+ Using MLA Style 7th Edition
writingcenter.txstate.edu
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Why MLA?
There are two main reasons we use MLA citation:
To have a uniformed convention for documenting research
To avoid plagiarism
MLA is also a complete formatting and style guide.
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MLA Formatting Basics
No separate cover page
1” margins
Double space everything
One space after periods
12 pt. Times New Roman
Indent paragraphs .5”
Indent block quotes 1” from left margin
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MLA Formatting Basics
Names of large works are italicized
books, periodicals, album titles, etc.
Names of works within larger works are placed in quotation marks
articles, chapters, essays, poems, songs, etc.
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Header on first page only
(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)
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Indenting paragraphs
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Select “First line� indent
Avoiding space after paragraphs
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Cha n defa ge ult to 0 pt.
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Block quote when quotations run over four lines (Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)
Indenting block quotes
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Indent 1�
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Citing Sources in the Text Author’s name in text: Robertson states that “fish sleep with their eyes open” (136).
Author’s name in reference: It is true that “fish sleep with their eyes open” (Robertson 136).
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Citing Sources in the Text ď ŽParaphrasing: In his aquatic research, John Robertson explains that sleeping fish do not close their eyes (136). Sleeping fish do not close their eyes (Robertson 136).
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Practice
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Practice
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Practice
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Practice
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Practice
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Practice
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Works Cited: Making the List
Identify the source
Find a sample of citing this type of source
“Mirror” the sample
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(Page scanned from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed.)
Indenting Works Cited
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Select “Hanging indent�
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Basics of Works Cited
Book
Johnson, Roberta. Gender and Nation in the Spanish Modernist Novel. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 2003. Print.
Work in an Anthology
Bordo, Susan. “The Moral Content of Nabokov’s Lolita.” Aesthetic Subjects. Ed. Pamela R. Matthews and David McWhirter. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2003. 125-52. Print.
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Basics of Works Cited
Journal
Web database
Williams, Linda. “Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies.” Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-340. Project Muse. Web. 8 Feb. 2009.
In print
Williams, Linda. “Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies.” Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-340. Print.
Online journal
Williams, Linda. “Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies.” Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-340. Web. 8 Feb. 2009.
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Practice: True/False
The works cited list is organized alphabetically by authors’ last names (or by title for a work with no author).
When a work’s author is unknown, the work is listed under “Anonymous” in the list of works cited.
The list of works cited is titled “Bibliography.”
An entry for a web source in the list of works cited includes the date the source was accessed.
In-text citations and a works cited list is only required if a professor requests it. Adapted from:
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Online Resources
Citation generators???
The Bedford Handbook
Writing Center website
Owl Purdue: owl.english.purdue.edu
www.worldcat.org
Texas State library databases
MLA style guide