Lecture #2: MLA Format

Lecture #2: MLA Format

I hope that you all remember something of MLA from your ENC 1101 course. MLA is especially important (in fact, essential) for the research paper, but it is also important for formal papers that are typed and turned in even if they do not involve research.

MLA is an acronym for Modern Language Association. This is an organization that performs many functions in the field of English, languages, and liberal arts. The only thing we need to know is that MLA defines a style for citing sources in research work and it also identifies the way in which a paper should be set up. Let’s handle these two things separately.

Paper set-up:

MLA guidelines for setting up any formal paper involve structural issues: the paper should have one inch margins, should be double spaced, should be in a readable font style and size (times new roman, 12 pt. is the default, and it is fine). Most of this is taken care of when you open a document. For the most part, just open MS Word, don’t mess with anything like margins or the ruler or tab stops, and you’ll be fine.

The more individual conventions are the header, title, and heading. The heading appears at the top left corner of the document and consists of four lines: Name, Instructor’s Name, Course, and Date. The paper also needs a title. You cannot title your paper A&P; that title is already taken. Instead, your title might be something like: Growing Up Sammy: The Maturing of Sammy in “A&P” This title is centered and appears one line (a regular double-space) beneath the header. Begin the paper one line (a regular double-space) below the title. Do not put extra spaces (do not hit “return” extra times before or after the title), because the title likes company and may become frightened if left all alone in the vast white field between the header and the body of the paper. Note also that the date in MLA follows the European model of dating: 24 June 2005. Note that the centered title is NOT underlined, is NOT in italics, and is NOT in quotation marks, nor is it bold. I included “A&P” in quotation marks because it is the title of a short story.

The entire paper is double-spaced, including the heading. To double-space, either set up the paper in the beginning or else highlight everything on the page (everything to which you will apply double spacing) and follow these steps: 1. under “format” (from the top of the MS Word screen), select [paragraph] from the drop-down menu. 2. In the “paragraph” box that appears, you will see several drop-down boxes; one of these will be called “line spacing.” Select from the drop-down menu “Double,” and you’re on your way.

The header: The header appears at the top right corner of each page of your document. The information in the header is: your last name and the page number. To insert a header: 1. go to “view” in the menu at the top of the MS Word page 2. drag down to “Header and Footer” This will cause your document to turn gray and a dotted-line box will appear at the top of the document 3. Align your cursor to the right margin and type your last name only, then a space 4. In the header/footer toolbar that should be floating around, click on the second icon from the left—this is the “insert page number” command. NOTE: If you try to manually type the number “1” at the top of page one, the number one will also appear on pages 2, 3, 4, etc.

Citation Rules:

The other significance of MLA for you is that it creates a standard guideline for identifying (citing) the sources you use in your paper. This involves two categories: In-text citations and a Works Cited page.

Works Cited—This is a list of all the sources you use in your paper. It is often important to use sources because people have likely already discussed some aspect of your topic. Using other sources (called secondary sources), shows your reader that you’ve consulted and considered these other sources (or at least some of them) before you just went ahead and responded to your subject. The more informed we are (the more sources we use), the better argument we can make and the more convincing we are to the reader.

The Works Cited Page guidelines as set forth by MLA include: use of hanging indents, alphabetical listing of sources, double-spacing for the entire Works Cited page and specific inclusion of information and punctuation.

· Hanging Indentation-means that if a citation should run onto a second, third, etc. line, the first line is flush with the left margin, and the second, third, etc. line is indented. The easiest way to do this is to type the Works Cited page without hitting “return” until the next citation. Once you’re finished completely, highlight the entire page, and under “format” and “paragraph” (the same place you find double-spacing), use the “special” dropdown box and select “hanging.”

· The inclusion of information dictates the alphabetical order. All Works Cited entries contain the following information: author, title(s), and publication information. Within the realm of “publication information,” each type of source (books, journals, magazines, online journals, film transcripts, comics, sound recordings) includes slightly different information. While these rules may seem picky, they are in place to ensure a standard so that anyone who wishes to locate your sources has the correct information to do so. Here, I will refer you to the back of the textbook, where there is a sample research paper and works cited information.

In-text Citations-the Works Cited page is in place to provide the sources’ information in entirety. Now, to identify what specific information in your paper came from which source, MLA directs us to use in-text citations, which may be for either quoted material or summarized material.

· Quoted Material-Each quote from either the primary source (the story, itself) or a secondary source (a criticism or journal article) needs to contain the author of those words and the page number from the book, journal or magazine where you found it. In including quoted material, you must also provide a signal phrase to introduce the quote (do not simply drop it in without introduction—remember, a quote by itself can not be an entire sentence in your paper).

o Example of a signal phrase: According to Josh Leman, “Edgar Allan Poe uses images of horror in his writings” (23). àHere, note the use of the author AND page number. Since the author is used in the signal phrase, I do not need to put it in the parentheses. Also note the use of parentheses)

o Another Example: While Poe is the master of creating horrible characters, he also “includes a surprisingly sweet, innocent quality to the murderous figures” (Leman 23). àHere, note that the quote must be included along with the signal (or introduction phrase) so that it reads like a natural sentence. Also note that I used only Leman’s last name in the parentheses and there is no punctuation, no comma, and no use of “p” or “pg.” between the name and the page number.

o Quotes longer than three lines should be indented as a block quote. Signal the quote, hit “return” and type the quote in its entirety (but do NOT use quotation marks in a block quote). Retaining the double-spacing that pervades the entire paper, once you have typed the quote, hit “return” again (so there are two hard returns surrounding the quote. Highlight ONLY the quoted words, and using the ruler at the top of MS Word, drag the little hourglass-looking thing to the half-inch mark. This should block all the text and then allow you to continue typing on the left margin.

Some Resources:

There is a great PowerPoint presentation from one of my favorite online resources: Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) page.

The PowerPoint: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/MLA.ppt

Purdue’s Main Page: http://owl.english.purdue.edu

Here is a an MLA checklist which can be found on my website at: http://faculty.mccfl.edu/ruffnec/1101/Intro%20writing%20techniques.htm

Manuscript format MLA:

1” margins all the way around

12-point font

Courier or Times New Roman

All double-spaced

1 space after comma and optional one or two after a period

Header with last name and page number on each page

NO COVER PAGE

Name, Prof., class, and date inverted on first page in upper left corner (also double-spaced)

Reminder Note:

When constructing a successful paper, you should first focus a thesis (after you have researched and read numerous articles on your story / stories (the primary source). After you have a thesis and three examples that serve as support from the story to back your thesis up, you should write a five paragraph essay (like the example in the book) without adding any quotes. After you have completed the five paragraph essay, go back and add one quote from your primary and one quote from a secondary source in each of the three body paragraphs. That is how to write a successful (and stressless) paper.

Don't forget the four rules to quoting:
1. Introduce the quote with a tag phrase (Poe states in his tale "The Black Cat"...)
2. Quote the quote (in-text or block if need be)
3. Check the parenthetical (make sure what is in parenthesis is correct and matches the works cited page)
4. Follow the quote with analysis. Show why that quote is necessary to your overall thesis.