Transcript MLA DOCUMENTATION

Adapted from MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers 6th Edition
 Printing/Typing
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Times New Roman or Arial
12 point
Print on one side of the page only
White, 81/2 X 11 paper
Margins = 1” on all sides
Double-spaced throughout
Do not use a title page
 Top of the first page give
your full name, your
instructor’s name, course
title, and date each on their
own line
 Center the title that you
created (do not underline,
put in quotes, type in all
caps, or use bold print)
 Header should appear ½”
from the top edge of the
page and 1” from the right
edge. It should include your
last name and the page
number. The Works Cited
page will be the last page of
your paper.
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1”
Laura N. Josephson
1/2”1
Josephson
1” Professor Bennett
Humanities
8 May 2003
Ellington’s Adventures in Music and
Geography
In studying the influence of
1”
Latin American, African, and Asian
music on modern American composers,
 References
in the text must clearly point to a
specific source in the list of Works Cited.
 Keep parenthetical references as brief and
clear as possible.
 All parenthetical references must be placed
at the end of the sentence.
 Place
the author’s last name, if given, and
the page number from where the quote was
taken.
 If there is no author given, give the first key
word(s) in the title. Remember to keep it
brief and punctuate correctly.
 It
may be true that “in appreciation of
medieval art the attitude of the observer is
of primary importance” (Robertson 136).
 It
may be true, as Robertson maintains, that
“in appreciation of medieval art the attitude
of the observer is of primary importance”
(136).
 The
nine grades of mandarins were
“distinguished by the color of the button
on the hats of office” (“Mandarin”).
A
New York Times editorial called Ralph
Ellison “a writer of universal reach”
(“Death”).
A
presidential commission reported in
1970 that recent campus protests had
focused on “racial injustice, war and the
university itself” (Report 3).
 Quote
only words, phrases, lines and
passages that are interesting, vivid, unusual.
 Keep all quotes as brief as possible.
 Joseph
Conrad writes of the company
manager in Heart of Darkness, “He was
obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear,
nor even respect.”
OR
 “He was obeyed,” writes Joseph Conrad of
the company manager in Heart of Darkness,
“yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor
even respect.”
 At
the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph
and the other boys realize the horror of their
actions:
The tears began to flow and sobs shook
him. He gave himself up to them now for
the first time on the island; great,
shuddering spasms of grief that seemed
to wrench his whole body. (186)
 Used
to omit a word, a phrase, a sentence,
or more
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In surveying various responses to plagues in the
Middle Ages, Barbara W. Tuchman writes,
“Medical thinking . . . stressed air as the
communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or
visible carriers” (101).
 If
you need to add a word or words to a
quotation to clarify the information, put the
added word(s) in brackets.
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He claimed he could provide “hundreds of
examples [of court decisions] to illustrate the
historical tension between church and state.”
 When
ending the sentence with a period, the period
is placed outside the ().

He attacked “taxation without representation” (32).
 When
a quotation ends with a ? or an !, the ? or ! is
placed inside the “ “, and the period is placed
outside the ().
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Did he attack “taxation without representation?” (32).
 It
appears at the end of the paper on a
new sheet.
 It is the final page of your document.
 Center the title Works Cited in plain text
on your page.
 The entire document should be doublespaced just like the essay.
 Each entry should be formatted for
hanging indention.
 The entries should be arranged
alphabetically by the first word in the
entry.
1”
½”
Josephson 15
Works Cited
1”
Burnett, James. “Ellington’s Place as a Composer.” Gammond 141-55.
Duke Ellington. 2002. Estate of Mercer K. Ellington. 3 June 2002
<http://www.dukeellington.com/>.
Ellington, Duke. The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse. 1971. Fantasy, 1991.
1”
 Definition:
“the false assumption of
authorship: the wrongful act of taking the
product of another person’s mind, and the
presenting it as one’s own” (Alexander
Lindey).
 Students'
Guide to Preventing and Avoiding
Plagiarism (created by Long Island University Library)
All examples taken from the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
6th edition