MLA citation reminders and Title page formatting

Jane Smith writes in her essay, “A Look at Children,” that having kids “is a great and wonderful experience” (185).

As one prominent author writes, having kids “is a great and wonderful experience” (Smith 185).

As one prominent author writes, having kids “is a great and wonderful experience” (Smith, “A Look at Children” 185).

[only use the work title if you are quoting from more than one work by “Smith,” or if there is more than one author named “Smith” that you are quoting from]

Note that the period comes AFTER the MLA citation information:

Smith writes that “the sport of climbing is becoming extremely popular” (99).

Smith asks, “is climbing a popular sport these days?” (99).

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Also: additions and omissions are indicated with square brackets and ellipses (not at end or beginning of quote!).

Smith asks, “is climbing a [...] popular sport these days?” (99).

Smith writes, “the main character [Marlowe] is mystical” (55).

We see Marlowe “[walking] to the boat” (55).

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lines of poetry are separated with a / :

Pickens writes that “His love is like / a big red bike” (44).

Citing a quotation longer that 4 lines (i.e. lines in YOUR essay)

-No quotation marks

-Indent 10 spaces (usually about two TABS) or the equivalent of one inch

-One space after the last punctuation mark of the quote

-Insert parenthetical citation

-For example….

Example of in-text citation (long quote)

McDonald speculates that monolingual speakers of English are disadvantaged in

today's world:

In Africa, as we have seen, most Africans, who are gifted linguists, will

know at least three languages. In India, there is a de facto bilingualism. In

Europe, English is widely understood--and taught--in all countries, even in

France. It appears that the British and Americans, lacking many levels of

language competence, are exceptional--and exceptionally handicapped,

perhaps. (350) period BEFORE citation

Some online source examples

In the case of an unpaginated source:

According to The Victorian Web, “fashion has always been a key indicator of social status” (n.pag.).

[note that your Works Cited entry must coincide with the “author” indicated in the text – i.e. [The Victorian Web”]

Sometimes online sources will provide paragraph or section numbers instead of page numbers:

According to The Victorian Web, “fashion has always been a key indicator of social status” (par. 2).

[or]

According to The Victorian Web, “fashion has always been a key indicator of social status” (sec. 2).

Works Cited

The Works Cited page(s) lists all the works you paraphrase or quote from in the main body of your essay. So if there is a (Beattie 456) in the text of your essay, there MUST be an entry in the Works Cited that BEGINS with Beattie.

Your Works Cited is its own numbered page; the last page of your essay.

Entries in the Works Cited are alphabetical (usually by last name of author).

Consult a writer’s Handbook and/or the CoD library website (Citing Sources) for guidelines on formatting.

Some examples….

[Book by a single author:]

Banting, Pamela. Body, Inc.: A Theory of Translation Poetics. Winnipeg:Turnstone Press, 1995.

[last name, first name. Title. City of publication: publisher, year.

[selection from an anthology (collection of works)]

Ehrenreich, Barbara. “The Cult of Busyness.” Common Culture. Ed.Michael Petracca and Madeleine Sorapure. 3rd ed. New Jersey:Prentice Hall, 2001. 540-543.

[author last name, first name. Title of selection. Title of anthology. Editors of anthology. Edition of anthology. City of publication: publisher, year. Pages numbers of selection.]

Reminder:

Citing Sources (CoD Library Website)

http://www.cod.edu/library/research/citenet.htm

Short Story Research Guide

http://www.cod.edu/library/libweb/Kickels/English/shortstory.htm

Citing SourcesHow to cite from Short Story CriticismHow to cite from Short Stories for StudentsHow to cite a journal article from an online databaseHow to cite a magazine article from an online database

Works Cited

Banting, Pamela. Body, Inc.: A Theory of Translation

Poetics. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1995.

Ehrenreich, Barbara. “The Cult of Busyness.”

Common Culture. Ed. Michael Petracca and

Madeleine Sorapure. 3rd ed. New Jersey

Prentice Hall, 2001. 540-543.

5

no bold, 12pt, no underline, no formatting

all double space

(no extra spaces)

Name Date Course name and number Professor Jason Snart Assignment (e.g. Essay 1)

Hook:Topic

title is centered

no formatting

12 pt Times New Roman

italicize long poems, plays, and novels

short stories and poetry in quotes

Titles –

The “hook” is to “hook” your reader with something catchy, interesting, and short.

The “topic” gives specific information about the focus and scope of your essay. Name ALL authors and works covered.

Fishing for Readers:How to Use Titles in College Writing

Family Pride:The Concept of Pride in John Milton’s Paradise Lost

Here are some really bad titles; never make up titles like these:

Symbolism in Literature

Essay 4

Catcher in the Rye

Essay on Reading 1

Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye:A Study of Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye