Transcript MLA Basics Updated - River Mill Academy

MLA Basics with Mrs. Ellington
Getting Prepped for Research and
Writing!
Why Cite?
2 Main Reasons:
• 1. It makes you look like you know your stuff.
– Yep, citing good sources of information in your
paper makes you look smarter. It shows that you
can research and put together evidence.
• 2. Avoiding plagiarism
– Plagiarism (even accidental plagiarism) can result
in you failing an assignment, or even failing the
class. Bummer.
– Giving credit where credit is due is just the right
thing to do anyway. 
Do I need to cite this?
• When in doubt, do it!
• You should cite any facts, ideas, quotes, etc.
(not common knowledge) that you did not
come up with yourself.
• This INCLUDES exact wording (quotes),
paraphrasing (in your own words), or
summarizing (shortening up to the essentials).
• Just changing some words around is not
enough to make something yours.
Choosing Quality Sources
• Some sources are good and some are really
not.
– How can you tell if you have a reliable internet site
that you can trust?
– When can you trust sources like Wikipedia?
• Your teacher will generally tell you if there are
sites you can’t use, but it’s a safe bet to stay away
from about.com, yahoo answers, etc.
Picking a good Research Topic
• Make sure your topic isn’t too broad:
– Bullying
• But also not too narrow:
– Internet bullying of 14-16 year olds on World of
Warcraft
• Ask yourself, “Can this be answered with yes or
no?”
– Is internet bullying a problem?
• Ask yourself, “How can I prove this? Is it really
researchable?”
– Why do people bully each other?
The Works Cited Page
• This is a separate page at the end of your
paper where you gather all of your citations
• Formatting stuff to keep in mind:
– Center the title
– Sources should go in alphabetical order
– The citations themselves use a hanging paragraph
form (the first line is left adjusted and everything
after that “hangs” from it)
– No bullet points or numbers on entries
– Keep the same formatting as the paper (double
space, size 12, etc.)
Sample Works Cited Page
Works Cited
"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action."
Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund,
8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on
Climate Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May
2007. Web. 25 May 2009.
Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet."
New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25
May 2009.
Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient
Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. rogerebert.com. Sun-Times
News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009.
GlobalWarming.org. Cooler Heads Coalition, 2007. Web. 24
May 2009.
Your new best friend
• Diana Hacker Sample Research Paper Works
Cited Page – sweet.
Common Citations: Print Book
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of
Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
Medium of Publication.
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science.
New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.
A Chapter or Article in a Book
Lastname, First name. "Title of Essay or
Chapter." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's
Name(s). City of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Page range of entry. Medium of Publication.
Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant
Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One
to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth:
Heinemann, 2000. 24-34. Print.
Source from Encyclopedia or
Reference Book
“Name of the entry.” Title of Reference Book.
Edition. Year published. Medium of
Publication.
"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary.
3rd ed. 1997. Print.
Website – include what you can find
1. Author's name (if available)
2. Title of the work or material in “quotes”
3. Title of overall Website in italics (if different from #2)
4. Version or edition used (if available)
5. Publisher or sponsor of website (if not available, use
n. p.)
6. Date of update, if available (if not available, use n. d.)
7. Medium of publication (Web)
8. Date that you accessed material (day, month, year)
9. Web address <URL>
Website Formula
Editor, author, or compiler name (if available).
“Title of article.” Name of Site. Version
number. Name of institution/organization
affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher),
date of resource creation or update (if
available). Medium of publication. Date of
access. <URL>
Website continued
"Basic Facts About Penguins." Wild Places &
Wildlife. Defenders of Wildlife, 2014. Web. 29
Sept. 2014.
<http://www.defenders.org/penguins/basicfacts>.
Here’s the website I’m citing: Penguins!
Using Citation Websites
• Some teachers will allow you to use sites like
easybib or citation machine. This may seem
really exciting and time-saving, but…
• BE WARNED: these sites are only helpful if you
know what you’re doing. You put in the wrong
info, or trust that, “it’s got this,” and you can
be in for a world of pain when it’s wrong. 