MLA Cheat Sheet

MLA Format Cheat Sheet

This handout provides a quick reference to the basics of using MLA style. For complete guidelines, consult MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7^th ed., call number: LB2369 .G53 2009. 

Major Updates from the New (7^th) Edition

·       MLA no longer requires underlining. Titles, such as books and periodical titles, are now italicized rather than underlined.

·       All entries in a reference list, whether print or electronic, must now include the medium in which they have been published (Print, Web, DVD, Television, etc.)

·       URLs are no longer required in citations. MLA recommends that writers only include a web address if the audience is unlikely to find the source otherwise.

·       New Abbreviations: Some sources do not have a date, publisher or pagination. MLA advises, where applicable, to write n.d. for no date, n.p. for no publisher, and n.pag. for no pagination given.

Formatting Basics

·       Double space throughout paper, with no extra spaces between paragraphs.  

·       Do not right justify.

·       Top, bottom, and side margins should be one inch.

·       Indent the first word of each paragraph by ½ inch or 5 spaces.

·       Do not use a title page for the research paper: instead simply type your name, instructor’s name, course number, and date. This should be flush with the left margin. 

·       Center the title of the paper. Do not underline the title, or put in “quotation marks,” or set in ALL CAPITALS. 

·       Number all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, ½ inch from the top and flush with right margin.  Type your last name before the page number, and do not use “p.” before the number.

 

SAMPLE FIRST PAGE:

       

 Works Cited

MLA style requires that the list of Works Cited start on a new page at the end of your paper.  Formatting rules include:

·       Continue page numbering from the body of your paper.

·       Center the title “Works Cited,” one inch from the top.

·       Alphabetize entries by the author’s last name. If no author, alphabetize by the title (ignore A, An,The).

·       Use a hanging indent.

For books:

·       Name(s) of authors or editors.  If only citing one chapter within a book, the author and title (in “quotation marks”) of the chapter.

·       Title of book (including subtitle) italicized.

·       City of publication, name of the publisher, and year of publication.

·       Medium of publication.

·       Edition (only if 2nd ed. or later).

·       Volume number (if there is one).

·       If citing one chapter within a book, the page numbers of the chapter.

For print journal and magazine articles :

·       Names of authors.

·       Title of article in “quotation marks.”

·       Title of journal or magazine italicized.

·       Volume number (for a journal).

·       Issue number (for a journal, if available).

·       Date of publication (for journal article, note year only).

·       Page numbers of the article.

·       Medium of publication (Print).

For journal and magazine articles acquired using a library database:

·       Names of authors.

·       Title of article in “quotation marks.”

·       Title of journal or magazine italicized.

·       Volume number and issue number (for a journal).

·       Date of publication (for journal article, note year only).

·       Page numbers of the article as originally published in print journal.

·       Name of the database italicized.

·       Medium of publication (Web).

·       Date of access (day, month, and year).

For websites:

·       Name of author or editor (if given).

·       Title of the work italicized if the work is independent; in quotation marks if it is part of a larger work.

·       Title of the overall website italicized, if distinct from above.

·       Publisher or sponsor of the site; if not available, use n.p.

·       Date of publication (day, month, and year), if not available, use n.d.

·       Medium of publication (Web).

·       Date of access (day, month, and year).

Examples of Citations

Book with one author:

Steele, Timothy. The Color Wheel: Poems. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1994. Print.

Book with two or three authors:

Broer, Lawrence R., and Gloria Holland. Hemingway and Women: Female Critics and the Female

                  Voice. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2002. Print.

Book with four or more authors:

Jones, Terry, et al. Who Murdered Chaucer?: A Medieval Mystery.  New York: Thomas Dunne Books,

2004. Print.

Chapter in a book:

Naremore, James. "Hitchcock at the Margins of Noir." Alfred Hitchcock: Centenary Essays. 

Ed. Richard Allen and S. Ishii-Gonzales. London: BFI, 1999. 263-77.  Print.

Translation:

Murasaki Shikibu. The Tale of Genji .  Trans. Royall Tyler.  New York: Viking, 2001.  Print.

Print journal article:

Levine, June Perry. “Passage to the Odeon: Too Lean.” Literature Film Quarterly  

14.3 (1986): 139-50. Print.

Journal article acquired using a library database:

Letemendia, V. C. “Revolution on Animal Farm: Orwell's Neglected Commentary.” Journal of Modern Literature 18.1 (1992): 127-37. JSTOR . Web. 6 July 2009.

Website:

Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web.  7 July 2009.

Newspaper article:

Daker, Susan.  “No Happy Holiday for Refiners.” Wall Street Journal 3 July 2009: C10.  Print.

Film:

Chocolat.  Dir. Lasse Hallstrom.  Perf.  Alfred Molina and Juliette Binoche. 2000.  Miramax, 2003.  DVD.

Parenthetical Citations

•        References in your paper must clearly point to specific sources in your list of Works Cited.

•        In most cases, providing the author’s last name and the page number is sufficient: 

Medieval Europe was a place both of “raids, pillages, slavery, and extortion” and of “traveling merchants, monetary exchange, towns if not cities, and active markets in grain” (Townsend 10).

•        If you have several works by the same author, also include the title (abbreviated if long):

(Frye, Double Vision 85).

•        If no author is listed, use the title (shortened if long):

Voice of the Shuttle has many electronic sources.

•        If using the title, remember to use correct punctuation: italicize book titles, use quotation marks for journal articles, short stories, book chapters, etc.

•        The author’s name can be referred to within the sentence:

Tannen has argued this point (178-85).

         …or the author’s name can be referred to within the parenthetical reference:

This point has already been argued (Tannen 178-85).

For additional help

•        Consult Joseph Gibaldi’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7^th ed,
available at the Reference Desk and on Reserve.

•        Refer to the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/15/

•        Utilize bibliographic management tools such as…
                  -RefWorks - https://www.refworks.com/Refworks

                           - Zotero (Firefox only) - http://www.zotero.org/

         - Knight Cite - http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/

Reading Analysis Guide #2

Guidelines for Reading Analysis Presentation

Guidelines for Reading Analysis Presentations

Make a note of the article titles and presentation dates that you sign up for below.

You will be presenting your analysis in class along with two to five of your classmates. The class will be counting on you to be on top of the article you are covering, so please be prepared!

To receive credit, you must participate in the presentation of your analysis. You will be graded primarily on your written analysis (breakdown of scoring below), but outstanding presentations will be rewarded.

Before you begin your work, examine the Evaluating Arguments handout.

Read the article you will be analyzing carefully. If possible, read it twice. On your first reading, just try to identify the main idea(s) and get a feel for the writer’s approach and the flow of the piece. On your second reading, go over the text more carefully; notice how the writer constructs his or her argument. You will probably want to mark up your text and/or take notes.

To prepare your written analysis:

Identify the author’s name and the title of the article. Answer the following questions. Put your answers in outline form (see sample analysis on the reverse side of this sheet).

1.     What is the central claim (or thesis) of the selection? Your answer should be a complete sentence in your own words (not a quote!). Be as specific as possible, but remember that your claim should cover the whole article. (10 points)

2.     Is the central claim expressed explicitly or implicitly? The claim is explicit if the writer spells out what it is. The claim is implicit if the writer only implies the claim but does not state it outright. (1 point)

3.     What reasons link the evidence to the claim? In other words, why does the evidence support the claim? Reasons may be presented explicitly or implied. (7 points)

4.     What evidence does the writer present to support his or her claim? Specify and categorize the evidence (e.g. examples, personal experiences, analogy, authoritative opinion, facts, statistical data, cause-effect reasoning, results of scientific experiments, comparison, interviews, etc. – see sample on back). Do not answer this question with detailed quotes or paraphrases from the article! For additional guidance, see the table of Kinds of Evidence on pp. 91-4 of your textbook Writing Arguments. (7 points)

5.     Comment briefly on the persuasiveness of the article by answering one or more of the following questions.  (5 points)

·      Is the argument convincing? Does it rely on emotional, ethical, and/or logical appeals?

·      Are there flaws in the reasoning of the argument? Does it rely on questionable sources?

·      Does understanding the argument require knowledge of the historical or cultural context in which it was written?

·      How do the style, organization, and/or tone contribute or detract from the persuasiveness of the argument?

·      What is your personal reaction to the article?

Guidelines for Reading Analysis Presentations 3 & 4 on The Ethics of What We Eat

Sign-up for one set of chapters for Weeks 9, 10, or 11 and one set of chapters for Weeks 12, 13, or 14. Make a note of the chapter numbers and presentation dates that you sign up for below.

Reading analysis 3 chapters: ________________________  Presentation date: _______________

Reading analysis 4 chapters: ________________________  Presentation date: _______________

You will be presenting your analysis in class along with two to five of your classmates. The class will be counting on you to be on top of the chapters you are covering, so please be prepared!

This assignment is worth 30 points – to receive credit, you must participate in the presentation of your analysis. You will be graded primarily on your written analysis (breakdown of scoring below), but outstanding presentations will be rewarded.

Before you begin your work, examine the sample analysis on the back of this sheet.

Read the chapters you will be analyzing carefully. If possible, read them twice. On your first reading, just try to identify the main idea(s) and get a feel for the writer’s approach and the flow of the piece. On your second reading, go over the text more carefully; notice how the writer constructs his argument. You will probably want to mark up your text and/or take notes.

To prepare your written analysis:

Identify the author’s name and the title of the article. Answer the following questions. Put your answers in outline form (see sample analysis on the reverse side of this sheet).

6.     What is the central claim (or thesis) of the selection? Your answer should be a complete sentence in your own words (not a quote!). Be as specific as possible, but remember that your claim should cover the whole article. (10 points)

7.     Is the central claim expressed explicitly or implicitly? The claim is explicit if the writer spells out what it is. The claim is implicit if the writer only implies the claim but does not state it outright. (1 point)

8.     What reasons link the evidence to the claim? In other words, why does the evidence support the claim? Reasons may be presented explicitly or implied. (7 points)

9.     What evidence does the writer present to support his or her claim? Specify and categorize the evidence (e.g. examples, personal experiences, analogy, authoritative opinion, facts, statistical data, cause-effect reasoning, results of scientific experiments, comparison, interviews, etc. – see sample on back). Do not answer this question with detailed quotes or paraphrases from the article! For additional guidance, see the table of Kinds of Evidence on pp. 91-4 of your textbook Writing Arguments. (7 points)

10.  Comment briefly on the persuasiveness of the article by answering one or more of the following questions.  (5 points)

·      Is the argument convincing? Does it rely on emotional, ethical, and/or logical appeals?

·      Are there flaws in the reasoning of the argument? Does it rely on questionable sources?

·      Does understanding the argument require knowledge of the historical or cultural context in which it was written?

·      How do the style, organization, and/or tone contribute or detract from the persuasiveness of the argument?

·      What is your personal reaction to the story?