Eng 102

MLA
In-text (parenthetical) citations

What is MLA?

Modern Language Association (1883)

Style most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within
liberal arts and humanities

Foundation for other styles such as APA

Not

every source type has a formula in APA; therefore, must

refer to MLA knowledge

Specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and using the

English language in writing

MLA Basics

Use Times New Roman size 12 font, double space throughout, flush left,
paperclip left corner (I have a cat problem, please staple)

In header, Last name and page number in upper right corner beginning with
page 1

Flush left, your name, instructors name, class, date (military styledate
month year)

Center title (do not bold, underline, or italicize. Do apply standard rules of
capitalization)

Indent each paragraph

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Why use MLA?

Builds writers credibility by demonstrating accountability to source material

Provides writers with a system for referencing sources (uniformity)

Protects writers from accusations of plagiarism

All of the following are considered plagiarism:

turning in someone else's work as your own

copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit

failing to put a quotation in quotation marks

giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation

changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit (patchwriting)

copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether
you give credit or not

http://www.checkforplagiarism.net/plagiarism-consequences

Avoiding Plagiarism
Any summary, paraphrase, or quotation used in a paper MUST be
documented
Exemptions include the following:

Common knowledge

Disney theme parks attract thousands of visitors annually

Your own conclusions

Facts found in many sources

Shakespeares death

Standard terms

Mouse, CD-ROM, download

If ever unsure, document source

57-4 Avoiding Plagiarism

1. The sheer number of occasions on which people cry
in The Wizard of Oz is astounding.

Plagiarized.
Why?
The student uses language borrowed from the original
source without quotation marks and without
crediting the author. The following is an acceptable
revision:

Rushdie points out that the sheer number of occasions

on which people cry in The Wizard of Oz is
astounding (223).

57-4 Avoiding Plagiarism

2. Rushdie notes that so many characters cry in The
Wizard of Oz that its surprising the Wicked Witch did
not get wet and melt away earlier in the film (22324).

Ok.
Why?
The student has paraphrased without using language or
structure from the source. The student also cites the
authors name and gives the page numbers for the
source in parentheses.

57-4 Avoiding Plagiarism

3. Rushdie points out the number of characters who weep in The
Wizard of Oz: Dorothy cries tears of frustration before being
allowed to enter the Wizards palace, the guard at the palace
becomes sodden with tears, the Cowardly Lion cries when
Dorothy hits him on the nose, the Tin Man nearly rusts up
again from crying, and Dorothy cries again when captured by
the Witch (223).
Plagiarized.
Why?

The student has borrowed words from the source without

putting them in quotation marks (tears of frustration, sodden
with tears, rusts up again) and has plugged in synonyms for
other language from the source (cries/bawls, hits/bops).

57-4 Avoiding Plagiarism

4. Pointing out how many times characters cry in The
Wizard of Oz, Rushdie observes that if the hydrophobic
Witch could only have been closer at hand on one of these
occasions the movie might have been much shorter (22324).
Ok.
Why?
The student has correctly placed borrowed language in
quotation marks and given the authors name and the
page numbers on which the quotation can be found.

57-4 Avoiding Plagiarism

5. Rushdie notes that Dorothys weeping makes other
characters cry, as when her tears undam a quite alarming
reservoir of liquid from the guard in an extreme
performance outside the Wizards palace (223).

Plagiarized.
Why?
The student has used the words extreme performance from
the source without putting them in quotation marks.

Integrating Sources

Attributive tag signal the author before the information

Ellen Goodman offers this further observation about writers who peddle
formulas for achieving success through selfishness: They are all Doctor
Feelgoods, offering placebo prescriptions instead of strong medicine. They
give us a way to life with ourselves, perhaps, but not a way to live with each
other (16).

Or use a regular in-text parenthetical

The author offers this further observation about writers who peddle
formulas for achieving success through selfishness: They are all Doctor
Feelgoods, offering placebo prescriptions instead of strong medicine. They
give us a way to life with ourselves, perhaps, but not a way to live with each
other (Goodman 16).

Integrating Sources

Block quotations

quotations 4 lines or more must be double indented

Have a complete sentence before the quote

Do not use quotation marks

Barbara Tuchmans Proud Tower presents a somewhat different view of the

new conservative leaders:
Besides riches, rank broad acres, and ancient lineage, the new
government also possessed, to the regret of the liberal opposition,
and in the words of one of them, an almost embarrassing wealth and
talent and capacity. Secure in authority, resting comfortably on
their electoral majority in the House of Commons and on a
permanent majority in the House of Lords, of whom four-fifths were
conservatives, they were in a position, admitted the same opponent,
of unassailable strength. (4).

Integrating Sources Avoid freestanding quotations

Freestanding quotation

Riena Gross is a chief psychiatric social worker at Illinois Medical Center in

Chicago. Kids have no real sense that they belong anywhere or to anyone
as they did ten or fifteen years ago. Parents have loosened the reins, and
kids are kind of floundering (Gross 74).

Integrate quote into sentence to create flow

Addressing a seminar at the University of Toronto, Dr. Joseph Pomeranz

speculated that acupuncture may work by activating a neural pain
suppression mechanism in the brain (324).

The report further stated, All great writing styles have their wellsprings in
the personality of the writer. As Buffon said, The style is the man (Duncan
49).

58-3 Integrating sources

1.Malcolm Gladwell points out that drivers feel safer in an
SUV than in a sports car because they think that the SUV
drivers chances of surviving a collision with a
hypothetical tractor-trailer in the other lane are greater
(31).
Ok.
Explanation:
The student has put quotation marks around the exact
words from the source and has handled the MLA citation
correctly, putting the name of the author in a signal
phrase and the page number in parentheses.

58-3 Integrating sources

2. Gladwell argues that active safety is every bit as important
as a vehicles ability to withstand a collision (31).
The sentence is unacceptable.
Explanation:
The phrase active safety is enclosed in quotation marks in the
source; single quotation marks are required for a quotation
within a quotation. In addition, the student has failed to use
an ellipsis mark to indicate that the word which is omitted
from the quotation. The following is an acceptable revision:

Gladwell argues that active safetyis every bit as important

as a vehicles ability to withstand a collision (31).

58-3 Integrating sources

3. A majority of drivers can, indeed, be wrong. Most of us
think that S.U.V.s are much safer than sports cars
(Gladwell 31).
This passage is unacceptable.
Explanation:

The second sentence is a dropped quotation. Quotations

should be introduced with a signal phrase, usually naming
the author. The following is an acceptable revision:
A majority of drivers can, indeed, be wrong. As Malcolm
Gladwell points out, Most of us think that S.U.V.s are
much safer than sports cars (31).

58-3 Integrating sources

4. According to Gladwell, American SUVs are more likely to
be involved in collisions than other vehicles because
[they] cant get out of the way in time (31).
Ok.
Explanation:

The student has introduced the quotation with a signal

phrase and used brackets to indicate the change from you
to they fit the grammar of the sentence.

58-3 Integrating sources

5. Gladwell explains that most people expect an SUV to
survive a collision with a hypothetical tractor-trailer in the
other lane (31).
This sentence is unacceptable.
Explanation:

The student has changed the wording of the source (of

surviving) to fit the grammar of the sentence (to survive)
but has not indicated the change with brackets. The
following is an acceptable revision:
Gladwell explains that most people expect an SUV [to
survive] a collision with a hypothetical tractor-trailer in
the other lane (31).

For Tuesday

Complete packet activing 59-1