MLA Basics
What font and size does MLA 9 recommend?
12-point Times New Roman
How do you include an author in parentheses at the end of a quote?
(Author Last Name page number)
How is a book title formatted in Works Cited?
Italicized
How should the title of your paper appear? (Hint: looking for 2 answers.)
Centered, plain text
How do you handle no page numbers in an in-text citation?
Include only author (or other locator info if available)
Example: (Smith)
How many spaces for paragraph indentation?
Five spaces
Cite a paraphrase from John Smith on page 45.
(Smith 45)
How do you cite a source with two authors in Works Cited?
Last Name, First, and First Last. Title. Publisher, Year.
When do you use italics vs. quotation marks for titles?
Italics for books, films; quotes for poems, articles, short stories
1. How do you cite multiple works by the same author.
2. Provide an example.
You cite the author, but then also whatever comes next in your works cited entry (generally title).
(Smith, "A Real Life" 76)
What appears in the page header?
Student’s last name + page number
Correct this: "Wordsworth said, 'Poetry expresses emotion' (Wordsworth 263).
“Wordsworth said, ‘Poetry expresses emotion’ (263).”
Cite a chapter/article in an edited book. (hint: you're not using made-up info, but rather language like "Author," etc.
Author. “Title of Chapter.” Title of Book, edited by Editor(s), Publisher, Year, pages.
1 inch on all sides
How do you cite a source with no author?
Use whatever comes next, generally the title.
Example: (Guide to MLA 45)
MLA papers are double-spaced: true or false?
True
How do you cite a paraphrase with two authors? Use the names John Brown and Debbie Jones, found on pg. 144).
(Brown and Jones 144)
Cite a translated book in Works Cited (just using "Author," etc.
Author. Title. Translated by Translator, Publisher, Year.
Where does the student's name, professor, class, and date go?
Top-left corner of the first page
How do you indicate omitted words in a quote?
Use ellipsis: …
List 3 key elements of MLA formatting besides font and margins (like the entire essay overall)
Double-spacing, header with name/page, title centered
1. How do you cite a quote that spans 2 pages.
2. Create an example.
Include the page range: (Smith 165-66)
How do you cite an article in your Works Cited page?
Put it in quotation marks.
How is the first page different from subsequent pages in MLA formatting?
Includes heading and title; subsequent pages just have header with name/page
What should you do if paraphrasing an idea from a source with no page numbers?
Include author only.