MLA Documentation
Modern Language Association
Paraphrasing
Seventy-five per cent of the research materialthatyou are using should be PARAPHRASED. Remember that paraphrasing means to put the ideas of the original in your ownwords.Although every single word of your material may be different from the original, if you got the IDEA or the ORGANIZING strategy from someone else, you need to acknowledge the borrowing by identifying the original author and source.
Validating your sources
The first time you mention a source you should includeinformationto let the reader know the CREDENTIALS of your source. In other words, what is the source’s affiliation which makes himor her worthyof being a source.
Attribution
Verbs of attribution are not universally interchangeable, but there are multitudes of meanings: says, states, declares, avows, avers, believes, delineates, traces, announces, affirms, pronounces, proclaims, verbalizes, utters, relates, tells, narrates, recounts, relays, transmits, communicates, shares, demarcates, conveys, reports, links, expresses, voices, considers, supposes, thinks, deems, doubts, defines, outlines, describes, explains. .
Example
According to Stephen Harris and GloriaPlatznerin their book,Classical Mythology: Images and Insights, creation stories can be found in many ancient cultures’ mythologies (64).
Parenthetical Citation
Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).(Author’s Last Name Page Number).Appears directly after the quotation.
Parenthetical Citation Corresponds with an Entry in your Works Cited
Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).Burke, Kenneth.Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966. Print.
(Author Page Number)
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
Parenthetical Citation refers to Entry in Works Cited Page
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).Wordsworth, William.Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford U.P., 1967. Print.
If No Author, Use Shortened Version of Title
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Lyrical Ballads263).Lyrical Ballads in Romantic Literature. London: Oxford U.P., 1967. Print.
Basic Format: Works Cited Page
Appearsat the end of the essay on a page of its own.Containsa list of authors in alphabetic order (last name, first name).Indent all lines after the first.Double space.Center name Works Cited on top of page.
Books (Standard Format)
Lastname,Firstname.Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.Gleick, James.Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Books, 1987. Print.
Books with More than One Author
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner.TheAllynand Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston:Allyn, 2000.Print.
More than Three Authors
Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al.Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2004. Print.Wysocki, Anne Frances,JohndanJohnson-Eilola, Cynthia L.Selfe, and GeoffreySirc.Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2004.Print.
Essay in an Edited Book
Lastname, First name. "Title of Essay."Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.Print.Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers."A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One. Ed. BenRafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000. 24-34.Print.
Works Cited: Periodicals
An Article in a Newspaper or MagazineAuthor(s). "Title of Article."Title of PeriodicalDay Month Year: pages. Print.Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too- Close Call."Time20 Nov. 2000: 70-71. Print.
Article in a Scholarly Journal
Author(s). "Title of Article."Title of JournalVolume.Issue(Year): pages. Print.Bagchi,Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: TheVoiceof the Subaltern inMahaswetaDevi'sBashaiTudu."Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature15.1 (1996): 41-50. Print.
Common Features for Online Source
Author and/or editor namesName of the database, or title of project, book, articleAny version numbers availableDate of version, revision, or postingPublisher informationThe word WebDate you accessed the material
Online Scholarly Article
Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention."Emerging Infectious Diseases6.6 (2000): 33-46.Web. 8May2006.
Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph
Goya, Francisco.The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Broadcast Television or Radio Program
"The Blessing Way."The X-Files. Fox. WXIA, Atlanta. 19 Jul. 1998.
Recorded Television Shows
"The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."Friends: The Complete Sixth Season. Writ. Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen. Dir. Kevin Bright. NBC. 10 Feb. 2000. DVD. Warner Brothers, 2004.
Music
Entire AlbumsFoo Fighters.In Your Honor. RCA, 2005.Waits, Tom.Blue Valentine. 1978. Elektra/Wea, 1990.Individual SongsNirvana. "Smells Like Teen Spirit."Nevermind. Geffen, 1991.
Movie
Ed Wood. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette. 1994. DVD. Touchstone, 2004.
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