MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide

MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide Formatting the First Page • Do not make a separate title page for your paper. • In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the class, and the date, all on separate lines and double spaced. • Center the title of your paper. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks. • Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number. Works Cited Page • What is a works cited page? – The works cited page lists all of the places you found information that you used in your paper • Why is it important? – It allows your readers to see where your information comes from and gives them enough info to look it up themselves if they so chose Basic Rules for a Works Cited Page • It should go on a separate sheet of paper at the end of your essay • It should say “Works Cited” at the top, centered • It should be double-spaced • Indent every line except the first • Alphabetize the entries by the first item listed (usually author’s last name) Works Cited Entries • The entries on a works cited page will follow a very specific format • The format depends on the type of source you are using (book, magazine, website, etc.) • Every part of the format is important, so pay attention to commas, periods, abbreviations, italics, etc. Books: One Author Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print. Book: Two or Three Authors Lastname, Firstname, and Firstname Lastname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print. Burke, Kenneth, John Hoover, and Michelle Wealen. Language as Symbolic Action. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966. Print. Books: More than Three Authors Lastname, Firstname, et al. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2004. Print. Books: No Author Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Encyclopedia of Indiana. New York: Somerset, 1993. Print. Article in a Reference Book (Well-Known Encyclopedia, Dictionary) “Title of Article.” Title of Book. Edition. Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. "Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print. Article in a Periodical (Magazine, Newspaper) Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages. Medium of publication. Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71. Print. Abbreviations Commonly Used with Electronic Sources • Use n.p. to indicate that neither a publisher nor a sponsor name has been provided. • Use n.d. when the Web page does not provide a publication date. • Use n. pag. for an online-only scholarly journal that has no page numbers. Article in an Online Database Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages. Title of Database. Medium of publication. Date Accessed. Junge, Wolfgang, and Nathan Nelson. “Nature's Rotary Electromotors.” Science 29 Apr. 2005: 642-44. Science Online. Web. 5 Mar. 2009. Citing an Entire Website Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access. The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008. Web. 23 April 2008. Citing an Article on a Website 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 (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.