MLA Citations

Wahoo!!!
 MLAWhat?
Hopefully, you are all a little familiar with
MLA citation format.
MLA stands for Modern Language
Association, and it is the format we most
often write in when we are writing in the
disciplines that are part of the Humanities.
There are other citation formats such as
Chicago and APA, but we are not concerned
with those in a literature class.
FYI Chicago is used often in History
APA is used in Social Sciences such as
Psychology
 Why cite?
MLA citation is really all about one thing:
giving credit to the original author of a
text or idea.
Someones intellectual property is
legally theirs; it belongs to them.
Therefore, it is our duty as writers to
give credit for ideas that are not our
own.
 Plagiarism
There are consequences for using others
ideas without proper citation, otherwise
known as plagiarizing.
Plagiarizing can be many things from
copying an essay from the internet to not
fully paraphrasing a sentence from a
source.
Each level of plagiarism has different
consequences, but all plagiarism can be
avoided with proper citation.
Check out BHSs policy on cheating in our
Student Handbook.
 MLA Requirements
When using MLA format, you
need to be sure to cite in two
places:
1. In text using parenthetical
citations.
2. At the end of your paper on
a Works Cited page.
 Parenthetical Citations
In-text citations are like the key to a map
while the Works Cited page is the map. You
want your reader to be easily able to match
up the two. That is why the first thing that
appears in the citation on the Works Cited
page is the thing that goes in the
parenthetical citation. Most often, that thing
is the authors last name. Sometimes it is
the title of the book or article if the author is
unknown. (Keep in mind that if you cant find
an author, it may not be a credible source).
You also want your reader to be able to find
the specific information in the work that you
 Works Cited Page
The Works Cited page is where the reader
of your paper can find all the information
that he or she would need to go and find
your source on the shelves in the library or
on the internet.
Incidentally, Works Cited pages in articles
you read are great places to find other
articles or books related to your topic.
 Quotes
When citing a direct quote instead of paraphrasing it, you
should always introduce it with a signal phrase just
letting the reader know that a quote is coming up.
For example: In Steinbecks novel, Of Mice and Men, he
describes the barn as lazy and warm (76).
The period comes after the citation at the end of the
sentence.
Because I have already used the authors name in the
sentence, there is no need for me to put it in the
parentheses. If I had not used the authors name in the
sentence, I would have put it in the citation in
parentheses before the line number.
Follow suit when citing page numbers.
 When to Cite
You need to cite any time you use material
from a text. If it is not your original
idea, cite it.
Paraphrases must be cited, and they
also must completely change the wording
and sentence structure of the original
material. Paraphrases are a sticky wicket,
and they are where many people get into
trouble with plagiarism.
 Avoiding Plagiarism
You should always keep careful notes when
writing a paper that distinguish between:
Your own ideas
Your summaries and paraphrases of
others ideas
Direct quotes copied from work
 Formatting
Left aligned on the first page should be
your name, teacher, course, and date.
Font should be Times New Roman, 12 point.
All text should be left aligned, double
spaced, with paragraphs indented.
Last name and page number should be in
the header on the right of every page
beginning with page one. The title page
is unnumbered and uncounted.
Hanging indent for sources on Works Cited.