MLA Documentation for
Research-Based Writing
Spartanburg Technical College
Presentation Aug. 19, 2003
Presenters: Margaret Abrams, Ellen Autenzio,
Patricia Rodgers, Judy Sieg
The Modern Language
Association (MLA)
The Modern Language Association is
an association of scholars and
educators established in 1883. For
over a hundred years, its goal has
been to foster and maintain an
accepted standard of scholarship in
languages and literature.
The MLA Handbook
• The MLA Handbook contains a set of uniform
rules for the documentation of academic research.
• Over the years, these rules have been accepted
by a consensus of writers,publishers, and editors.
• The MLA Handbook, 6th ed. (2003) is the most
current edition.
How does using MLA format
benefit STC students?




Mental
discipline
Critical
thinking skills
Credibility
Accountability
Who’s Responsible?
THE INSTRUCTOR- Be familiar with basic MLA
format.
 Have access to MLA guidelines.
 Be willing to evaluate the student’s
compliance to MLA format as part of
the grading process.
 If teaching English 101, teach MLA
format in the classroom.
Who’s Responsible?
THE STUDENT—
 Understand basic MLA format and its
purpose.
 Use English handbook guidelines to work
within format.
 Ask questions of reliable sources when
uncertain of MLA guidelines.
 Document with academic integrity.
Who’s Responsible?
The TLC –
 Provide assistance and
answer formatting questions
for both students and faculty.
 Help student “fine tune” Works Cited
page and internal citations.
 Provide access to current MLA
guidelines and recent updates.
Challenges !



Not every student has taken English
101 before writing a research paper.
Electronic media means evolving, nondefinitive guidelines.
Citations may be “hybrids” for which no
single guideline can be found.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. “Sojourner Truth, the Libyan
Sibyl.” The Heath Anthology of American
Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. 4th ed. Vol.
1. Boston: Houghton, 2002. 2530-38.
“Hmmm…”
United States. Dept. of Education. Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) July 1, 2003June 20, 2004. Washington: GPO, n.d.
Raben, Robert. Letter to Congressman “Pete” Stark.
29 Sept. 2000. In HHS News 3 Jan. 2001.
United States Dept. of Health and Human
Services. 11 June 2003 <http://www.house.
gov/stark/stark2/Stark2info.html>.
To everything there is a
format.









An underlined title within another underlined title
Multiple authors or editors
Web page, email correspondence, CD Rom
Online source previously appearing as print source
Letter, memo, speech, personal interview
Advertisement, TV show, film
Work of art
Legal source
Government document
Take the challenge. Find nine errors
in the Works Cited entry below.
Pashke, Bill. “A Brotherly Bond That Beat the Odds.”
Winkler, Anthony C. and Jo Ray McCuenMetherall. Writing Talk: Sentences and
Paragraphs with Readings. 3rd Edition. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. 516-518.
Corrected entry
Paschke, Bill. “A Brotherly Bond That Beat the Odds.”
Writing Talk: Sentences and Paragraphs with
Readings. Writ. and ed. Anthony C. Winkler
and Jo Ray McCuen-Metherall. 3rd ed. Upper
Saddle River: Prentice, 2003. 516-18.
Explanation of corrections
1.
Title of textbook in which the essay appears should precede the
names of authors/editors.
2.
Do not invert first and last name unless alphabetizing.
3.
Specify Winkler and McCuen-Metherall’s function (trans., ed., writ.,
etc.)
4.
Underline title and subtitle (However, if an underlined title occurs
within an underlined title, omit the underline; i.e., Critical Essays
on Melville’s Moby Dick).
5.
Eliminate superscript in ordinal numbers.
6.
Use abbreviation for the word edition, and do not capitalize.
7.
Eliminate state’s name under place of publication.
8.
Shorten double names of publishers (However, if it is a personal
name, use the last name).
9.
Use only the final two digits in a hyphenated three-digit pagination.
MLA References
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern
Language Association of America, 2003.
Fulwiler, Toby, and Alan R. Hayakawa. The College
Writer’s Reference. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle
River: Prentice, 2002.
STC Library Research Guides
http://library.stcsc.edu/.
Modern Language Association Homepage
http://www.mla.org/.
Duke University Library Research Guides
http://www.lib.duke.edu/.
(*Note: This slide is not formatted as an MLA Works Cited
page.)
Handouts for Classroom Use
Click on the links below.
You may print these handouts for STC classroom use.
MLA Sample Research Pages
Title Page (not mandated by MLA)
Helpful Hints
Basic MLA Citation Guidelines – Revised Aug.
2003
STC