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MLA Handbookfor Writers ofResearch PapersProyecto Avalúo Competencias deEducación General (PACEG 2015-2016)University of Puerto RicoRio Piedras CampusLibrary SystemAngel Quintero Alfaro LibrarySeptermber 2016

Modern Language Association (MLA)Handbook for Writers of Research Papersu Thispresentation’s objectives are to: discuss showgeneral aspects of the MLA handbook,appropriate ways to cite, explainbasic rules and provide examples from aworks cited list.

Style Manualsu Style manuals are a set of guidelines for the compositionand presentation of written works.u They help: avoid plagiarism document the work (citation and works cited list)standardize the paper (font, spacing, abbreviations,footnotes, among others) u MLA is the handbook most frequently used to format writtenworks, citations and works cited lists in the humanities (art,literature, among others).

PlagiarismAccording to the American Heritage Dictionary of EnglishLanguage (2006) plagiarism in the context of a writtenwork is defined as “to use and pass off (the ideas orwriting of another) as one’s own.”u One plagiarizes when he/she:v copies another person’s words or ideas on purposewithout giving credit to the authors and passes itas if it is theirs.v buys, steals, or borrows someone’s written workand passes it as if it is theirs.v pays someone to write the work and passes it as ifit is theirs.

MLA Handbooku It is a guide that standardizes written worksin terms of: format, abbreviations, citationsnotes, and footnotes,and works cited lists, preparingpapers for publication.

General Text Formatu Print on 8.5x11 paper with one-inch margins at the top,bottom, left and right. Your last name and the paper’spage number are placed in the upper-right corner at halfan inch of each page of the document.u Do not justify the text: align left.u Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch.u Leave one space after each period.u Use legible fonts, such as Times New Roman size 12.

General Text Formatu The title is centralized: do not underline or use italics, bold orquotation marks. Do not place a period at the end of the title.u Double-space the whole document including citations, notes,and the works cited list.

MLA: Basic FormatFirst Pageu Do NOT use a cover page unless theprofessor specifically requests it.u Begin writing on the top left corner ofthe first page: your name, followed bythe professor’s name, the coursenumber or title, and the date (see theexample to the right). Double-spacethis information.u Next, write and centralize the title ofyour paper immediately after.u Begin writing your paper in the nextline. Indent the first line of the text inthis and all subsequent paragraphs.Double-space the entire document.u Note that on the upper-right corner ofthe page, separated a half inch fromthe margin, the header includes yourlast name, a space, and the pagenumber of the paper.

A citation isu The of use someone else’s ideas or exact words toeither strengthen our argument or to document ourwork.

When quoting:u Weneed to indicate where we obtainedthis information from so as not toplagiarize.u In-text citations should clearly lead thereader to a specific source in the workscited list.

MLA: Types of Quotationsu The MLA style handbook presents two ways of quoting: thedirect quote and the paraphrase.v A direct quote is when you reproduce a text word by word.This type of quotation is enclosed within quotation marks.v Paraphrasing refers to writing an author’s ideas in your ownwords. Even when you express them in your own words, theideas still belong to the original author; therefore, you mustgive credit to the author. This type of quote is inserted in thetext without quotation marks, but it still requires parentheticalcitation to give credit to the original author.v The types of quotes that the MLA style handbook presentsare discussed in the following slides. The most importantelements in each citation are presented in red.

MLA: Types of Citationsu Example1: Direct QuoteWordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a"spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).In a direct quote, the text is enclosed within quotation marks.Citation includes the last name of the author, and the pagenumber where the text can be found.In this example, the last name of the author is included in thesentence; therefore, only the page number goes inside theparenthesis at the end.

MLA: Types of Citationsu Example 2: Direct QuoteRomantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow ofpowerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).In this example of a direct quote, the quotation marks enclose thequotation and the parenthetical citation includes the author’s lastname and the page number where the excerpt is found followed by aperiod.If the sentence of the original source begins with a quote, the firstletter of the sentence begins with a capital letter. If the sentence ofthe original source does not begin with a quote or it is a phrase, thefirst letter of the citation begins with a lower case letter.

MLA: Types of Citationu Example 3: Direct QuoteAccording to an expert on the topic, “it is commonlyassumed that violence is part of our frontier heritage.But the historical record shows that frontier violence wasvery different from violence today” (McGrath 17).In this example, the author’s last name and the pagenumber are placed within parenthesis at the end of thequote. MLA emphasizes that this type of citation shouldbe introduced with a signal phrase that highlights thebeginning of the quote. In this case the signal phrase is“according to an expert on the topic.”

MLA: Types of Citationu Example4: Direct Quote (Block quotation)If a direct quote is longer than 4 lines of text, weplace it as an independent block ½ inch fromthe main margin. Punctuation is different for thistype of citation: the parenthesis with thebibliographic information is placed after theperiod. The example is in the next slide.

MLA: Types of Citationu Example: Direct Quote (Block quotation: more than 4lines in length)As Bocij points out there are many ways in whichcriminals use the Internet to defraud or damage others:At one level a seller might misrepresent an itemin an online auction in order to cheat a buyer outof a few extra dollars. At another, a carefullymanaged stock fraud can damage an industry,resulting in losses that can be measured inbillions of dollars. (109)

MLA: Paraphraseu According to MLA, plagiarism sometimes occurswhen we fail to give credit to the original authorwhen: quoting directly or paraphrasing, using aword or phrase coined by another author andparaphrasing an argument or train of thought.u Remember that paraphrase is to present theauthor’s ideas in your own words; it is not enoughto replace some of the author’s words withsynonyms and call it a paraphrase.

MLA: Types of Citationsu Example: ParaphraseThe combination of new technologies and the ever-changingfield of information sciences offers a wide variety ofpossibilities when we set out to find the necessary information(Fidishun 328).This example presents a citation in which we paraphrase orwrite the author’s idea in our own words. However, because itis not our original idea, we must give credit to the author byincluding his or her last name and the page number where theexcerpt can be found within a parenthesis.

MLA: Authorship in Citationsu In many cases, the author of the source is not a person, but acorporation, an association, a university, or other. In these cases, theinformation related to the authorship is provided where an author’sname would usually appear.v If the author is a corporation, a university or another type of institution,the name of the entity is used in the citation. The name can be placedwithin parenthesis at the end of the citation or it can be mentioned in thesignal phrase that introduces it.Example: University of Puerto Rico (57)v If the source does not have an author, the parenthetical citation shouldinclude the title of the source. For example:We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this regionhas "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs tomonitor and study environmental change . . ." ("Impact of Global Warming" 6).

MLA: Authorship in Citationsu Whenthe extract to be cited is part of ananthology, the authorship belongs to theauthor of the section of the anthology, not tothe editor.

MLA: Authorship in CitationsIf the source has two authors, place both authors’last names in the signal phrase to introduce thequote or at the end of the quote in parenthesis,following the format of the previous examples:Chomsky and Herman argue that “a propagandamodel focuses on this inequality of wealth andpower and its multilevel effects on mass-mediainterests and choices” (2).u u If the source has 3 authors or more, introduce onlythe first author’s last name followed by the phraseet al. The phrase that introduces the quote shouldbe plural.Example: According to Stinson, et al,

MLA: Citations for Non-Print orOnline Sourcesu Include the information on the works cited list in thefollowing order: author, title, name of website or title ofmovie.u Page numbers are not required.u Write only the title of the web page, not the complete onlineaddress on the document.u Whenever the title is the same as the online address, writeonly part of it. Example: cnn.com NOT http://www.cnn.com

MLA: General Informationu According to MLA general information does not have tobe cited. However, you should assess the presentationor paper’s audience and consider if that informationwould be general to them. Therefore, it is essential thatyou know the audience or reader you are addressing.u Examples of general information are:v v v Dates of important historical events (ChristopherColumbus arrived in America in 1492)Biographic facts about famous historical figures(George Washington was the first president of theUnited States)Geographic facts (The United States is part of theAmerican continent)

Strategies to Avoid Plagiarismu According to MLA, you can avoid plagiarism by:v v v v Making a list of all the authors and points of viewreferenced so you can check them off as you writeyour paper and cite them.Keeping a clear track of your ideas, separate from asummary of other authors’ ideas, and the directquotations you plan to include.Identifying all the necessary elements to cite all thesources you use as direct quotations, paraphrase,arguments and facts.Speaking with your professor or librarian when you arenot sure about the proper use of a source.

MLA: Works Citedu Begin the works cited list on a separate page at the end of thepaper.u Write Works Cited as the title of the page, centralized at the verytop. Do not write the title in bold, italics or underline the words. Donot use quotation marks.u All entries should be double-spaced, as well as the rest of thedocument.u Do not indent the first line of each entry. Instead, indent thesecond line and the ones that follow.u For online sources, you should include the URL address.u When the document is written in English, the first letter of eachword in the title of a source is capitalized, except for prepositionsand articles.

MLA: Works CitedContrary to previous editions, the 2016 MLA revisiondoes not require that we indicate the format of thesource (print, web) in the bibliographic entry.u In the case of journals, use the abbreviation vol. forvolume, no. for number, p. for page and pp. forseveral pages.u Periods are placed only after the author’s name andthe title. Use a comma after all other elements in theentry.u The city of publication, year of original publication andthe access date to the website are included in theentry only if it is necessary or relevant to the reader.u