MLAMLA

University of Alaska Southeast’s humanities and English classes use

MLA (Modern Language Association) format for formatting essays and

research papers.

Where Do You Find MLA?Where Do You Find MLA?

A Writer’s ReferenceA Writer’s Reference – the Diana Hacker – the Diana Hacker English handbookEnglish handbook

The Diana Hacker website – The Diana Hacker website – www.dianahacker.comwww.dianahacker.com

The St. Martin handbookThe St. Martin handbook Writing textbooksWriting textbooks OWL website: OWL website: owl.english.purdue.eduowl.english.purdue.edu Google “MLA format”Google “MLA format”

WHY do you want MLA?WHY do you want MLA?

Document your sources for credibility Document your sources for credibility and referenceand reference

Protect yourself from plagiarismProtect yourself from plagiarism Format your essays consistentlyFormat your essays consistently Integrate quotations coherentlyIntegrate quotations coherently

WHY should you cite sources?WHY should you cite sources?

WHY should you cite sources?WHY should you cite sources?

To be fair & ethicalTo be fair & ethical

WHY should you cite sources?WHY should you cite sources?

To be fair & ethicalTo be fair & ethicalTo give your writing credibilityTo give your writing credibility

WHY should you cite sources?WHY should you cite sources?

To be fair & ethicalTo be fair & ethicalTo give your writing credibilityTo give your writing credibilityTo guide readers toward more To guide readers toward more

information on a topicinformation on a topic

WHY should you cite sources?WHY should you cite sources?

To be fair & ethicalTo be fair & ethicalTo give your writing credibilityTo give your writing credibilityTo guide readers toward more To guide readers toward more

information on a topicinformation on a topicTo avoid plagiarism problemsTo avoid plagiarism problems

What is plagiarism?What is plagiarism?

Failure to cite quotationsFailure to cite quotations Failure to enclose borrowed language in Failure to enclose borrowed language in

quotation marksquotation marks Failure to put summaries and paraphrases Failure to put summaries and paraphrases

in your own wordsin your own words Failure to give authors credit for their ideasFailure to give authors credit for their ideas

(Hacker 331)

What does NOT need to be cited?What does NOT need to be cited?

COMMON

KNOWLEDGEIf you knew the information well enough that you didn’t have to

look it up, you probably don’t need to cite a source for it.

No need to cite Common No need to cite Common Knowledge…Knowledge…

The Civil War started in 1861.The Civil War started in 1861. Elephants can’t jump well.Elephants can’t jump well. College freshmen have a high drop-out College freshmen have a high drop-out

rate.rate. Alaska is the largest state in the United Alaska is the largest state in the United

States.States.

What should be Cited?What should be Cited?

Direct quotationsDirect quotations

(Hacker 331)

Cite Direct QuotationsCite Direct Quotations

Martin Luther King Jr. made a strong point when he said, “It may be true that a law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important” (King 142).

What should be Cited?What should be Cited?

Direct quotationsDirect quotations Borrowed ideasBorrowed ideas

(Hacker 331)

Cite Borrowed IdeasCite Borrowed Ideas

ORIGINAL – “When searching for a college campus with your teen, a parent needs to be aware of more than education when choosing a school. Parents need to be concerned about issues of alcohol use “ (Break Point 3).

PARAPHRASE – Parents of teenagers should consider alcohol issues when they help their child look for appropriate colleges (Break Point 3).

What should be Cited?What should be Cited?

Direct quotationsDirect quotations Borrowed ideasBorrowed ideas Summaries and paraphrasesSummaries and paraphrases

(Hacker 331)

Cite Summaries and ParaphrasesCite Summaries and ParaphrasesORIGINAL – “What are Zero Tolerance Laws? It simply means that it is illegal for persons under the age of 21 to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages. A zero tolerance makes it illegal for persons under the age of 21 to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in their blood. The BAC levels vary throughout the States. They range from .00-.02 for drivers under 21. Illinois law is among the strictest in the States at .00 BAC. If any alcohol is detected in the blood stream the driver will be issued a traffic infraction including a fine and the revocation of their drivers license” (Break Point 3).

SUMMARY – Because of recent Zero Tolerance Laws, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to possess alcohol or to drive under the influence with BAC levels as low as .00 BAC (Break Point 3).

What should be Cited?What should be Cited?

Direct quotationsDirect quotations Borrowed ideasBorrowed ideas Summaries and paraphrasesSummaries and paraphrases Statistics and other specific factsStatistics and other specific facts

(Hacker 331)

Cite Statistics and FactsCite Statistics and Facts

“More 18 year olds died in lower BAC (between .01 and .09) alcohol-related crashes than any other age” (Break Point 3).

What should be Cited?What should be Cited?

Direct quotationsDirect quotations Borrowed ideasBorrowed ideas Summaries and paraphrasesSummaries and paraphrases Statistics and other specific factsStatistics and other specific facts Visuals such as cartoons, graphs, or Visuals such as cartoons, graphs, or

diagramsdiagrams

(Hacker 331)

Cite Cartoons, Graphs, & DiagramsCite Cartoons, Graphs, & Diagrams

Fig. 1. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, “Drunk Driving Accidents, Fatalities and Injuries” 2002.

What should be Cited?What should be Cited?

Direct quotationsDirect quotations Borrowed ideasBorrowed ideas Summaries and paraphrasesSummaries and paraphrases Statistics and other specific factsStatistics and other specific facts Visuals such as cartoons, graphs, or Visuals such as cartoons, graphs, or

diagramsdiagrams Anything the reader might question – this Anything the reader might question – this

can vary depending on the readercan vary depending on the reader

The Works Cited Page

Has a

VERY SPECIFIC

FORMAT

Works Cited Page:Works Cited Page:

Lists EVERY source that you make Lists EVERY source that you make reference to in your essayreference to in your essay

Is always a separate pageIs always a separate page Is alphabetized by first wordIs alphabetized by first word Uses reverse indentationUses reverse indentation Is double spaced throughoutIs double spaced throughout

Work Cited = 1 item / Works Cited = 1+Work Cited = 1 item / Works Cited = 1+

Works Cited

Besthoff, Len. “Cell Phone Use Increases Risk of Accidents.” WRAL Online.

11 Nov. 1999. 12 Jan. 2001 <http://www.wral/

tv.com/news/wral/1999-talk driving/>.

Haughney, Christine. “Taking Phones out of Drivers’ Hands.” Washington

Post 5 Nov. 2000: A8.

Lowe, Chan. Cartoon. Washington Post 22 July 2000: A21.

Redeimeier, Donald A., and Robert J. Tibshirani. “Association between

Cellular-Telephone Calls and Motor Vehicle Collisions.” New England

Journal of Medicine 336 (1997): 453-458.

(Hacker 377)

Smith 17

Basic Book FormatBasic Book Format

Forrest, Samuel K. MLK - a Contemporary Legend. Seattle:

Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1978. 122.

Basic Book FormatBasic Book Format

Forrest, Samuel K. MLK - a Contemporary Legend. Seattle:

Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1978. 122. Reverse

indentationPeriod after most items

Underline

Book title

Author last name first City closest to

you

NO p. or pg. for page number!

Website CitationWebsite Citation

"Drunk Driving Crashes, Fatalities, and Injuries." Safety and Consumer

Protection. 02 Mar. 2005. Wisconsin Department of Transportation. 4

Apr. 2006 </www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/motorist/

drunkdriving/crash.htm>.

Title of article, no author available Name of website

Date accessed

Date Written

Web address

May be required by your instructor

Only break at backslash

Works Cited

Besthoff, Len. “Cell Phone Use Increases Risk of Accidents.” WRAL Online.

11 Nov. 1999. 12 Jan. 2001 <http://www.wral-tv.com/news/

wral/1999-talk driving/>.

Haughney, Christine. “Taking Phones out of Drivers’ Hands.” Washington

Post 5 Nov. 2000: A8.

Lowe, Chan. Cartoon. Washington Post 22 July 2000: A21.

Redeimeier, Donald A., and Robert J. Tibshirani. “Association between

Cellular-Telephone Calls and Motor Vehicle Collisions.” New England

Journal of Medicine 336 (1997): 453-458.

Double spaced

throughout

Alphabatized

Period at end of every entry

Two authors(Hacker 377)