MLA Information

Below are examples of in-text citations and Works Cited entries.  This is MLA style, developed by the Modern Language Association, and these are the rules we follow in LA8.  Follow directions carefully because this must be exact to be correct!

The basic formula is:  Who said it, "What they said" (Where they said it). 

•  Begin your sentence with your own words to introduce this quote (give background knowledge of who said it, when, where, etc.). Then put quoted material.
•  Or begin the sentence with the quote and then put your own words to add background information.
• Always end your sentence with the book’s author’s last name and page number in parentheses ( ).
• The period goes AFTER the parentheses (  ).

Scientists explain, “Zoos are moving away from cages” (Pearson 65). 

“Texting is dangerous,” many experts agree (Steinhauer and Holson 2). 

You need:

Who said it (author or speaker of quote)

Ex:  Neil Armstrong told the world, “It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (Smith 22).

Ex:  In his book, Smith writes, “Jackie Robinson is the greatest athlete of all time” (25).

What they said (the quote or words you copied word for word)

Ex:  Neil Armstrong told the world, “It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (Smith 22).

Where they said it (the source and page number)

Ex:  Neil Armstrong told the world, “It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (Smith 22).

Ex:  In his book, Smith writes, “Jackie Robinson is the greatest athlete of all time” (25).

Rules to follow:

1.    Find the speaker of the quote (the person who said the words), the author of the source (book, article, website, etc), and page number

·      Sometimes the speaker and author are the same person.

·      If there is no author, do NOT panic.

·      If the source is on the computer, you will NOT have a page number. 

2.    Write an introduction to the quote:

·      Ex:  The first words on the moon were, “It’s one…”

·      If the speaker of the quote is different from the author, tell me the name of the speaker in your introduction

o      Ex:  Neil Armstrong proudly declared, “It’s one…" (Armstrong did NOT write the book, but he did say these words that I read in a book.) 

·      Ex:  In his article, the Smith explains, “It’s one…” (Smith is the author of the book and the person who wrote these words.) 

3.    Put the quote in quotation mark. 

4.    In parentheses put the author of the book and page number (do not write “page”)

·      Ex:  He wrote, “Robinson is the best” (Smith 22).

·      If there is no author, put the title of the article in quotes:  (“Robinson” 22).

·      If there is no author and no article, put the title of the book or source in italics:  (Greatest Athletes 22).

·      If there is no page number, leave it out:  (Smith).

·      If you already put the AUTHOR’S NAME in your introduction, put only the page number: Smith declared, “He is the best” (22). 

5. Put the period AFTER the parentheses:

Ex:  Neil Armstrong told the world, “It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (Smith 22).

 In this class we use MLA (Modern Language Association) style of citations.  The rules are:

•               At the top center the phrase Works Cited

•               Alphabetize your sources by the FIRST WORD in the citation (do not put all the books first then all the webpages, etc).

•               Do NOT number your sources.

•               Each source starts at the far left of the page and then each line after that is indented (the opposite of a normal indent).

•               Double space everything

•               Put the type of source last (print, web, multimedia, or interview)

Example of BOOK source (if you are missing any piece of information, skip it in the citation):

Last Name, First Name.  "Title of Article." Title of Book.  Place published:  Publisher, Date. Type.

 Brown, Tom.  "Edgar Allan Poe." The World Book Encyclopedia.  Houston:  World Book Inc, 2008. Print.

Something with 2 authors:  Put both authors.

 Brown, Renee and Carla McCue (the second author’s name is first name first, so it looks normal)

Something with 3 or more authors:  Put first author and et al.  Notice the middle name or initial.

Smith, John H. et al.

Smith, John Harry et al.

Email:

 Last, first name of person who wrote the email.  “Subject Line.”  Email to the author.  Date sent. Type.

Brown, Renee. “Suspense Unit.”  Email to the author.  20 December 2008. Web

Interview:

Last, first name of person being interviewed.  Personal Interview.  Date interviewed. Type.

Brown, Renee. Personal Interview.  20 December 2008. Interview.

Do NOT use any of the following in your formal essay for this class.  You WILL lose points if you break these rules.

Contractions:  Don’t = Do not, You’re = You are, Can’t = cannot (one word)

First Person:  I, me, my, we, us

NEVER EVER use “I think,” “I believe,” or “In my opinion”!!

Second Person:  you, your (Do you mean boys, girls, the teacher, students, society, Americans, people, etc.  Be specific)

Third Grade Words/ DEAD WORDS: bad, mean, ugly, a lot, kind of, stuff, things, said, big, small

Numbers under twenty (you must spell them out)

Abbreviations; IM and Text Speak:  brb, lol, bff, b/c, w/, u, etc.

Slang:  Do NOT write the way you talk with friends:  cuz, cause (for because), kinda, wanna, sorta, yeah, oh, plus, so, etc.

Either of the following words:  "Like":  do you mean, prefer, enjoy, adore, love, such as, for example?  "Kind of":  it either is, or it is not.