MLA Formatting
What is the proper MLA font type and size?
Times New Roman 12 point
What information usually goes in an in-text citation?
Author's last name and page number
How do you format titles of longer works such as books, journals, and websites?
Put them in Italics
How are the entries on the Works Cited page arranged?
In alphabetical order by the authors' last names
What does MLA stand for?
Modern Language Association
What goes in your header? (DIFFERENT than heading)
Last name and page number
What do you put in your in-text citation when there is no author given?
The title of the work or a shortened version of the title
How do you format titles of shorter works such as essays, chapters of books, and sections of websites?
Put them in quotes
How do you put a work in alphabetical order on your Works Cited page if there is no author?
By title
What is paraphrasing? (specify the amount of space used)
Putting the author's ideas into your own words, in essentially the same amount of space
What should your margins be set to on all sides?
One inch
For short quotes, where does the punctuation of the sentence go in relation to the in-text citation parenthetical ?
AFTER your in-text citation / after parenthesis
What are the three "more preferable" types of websites to use as a source?
government, university/education, or organization sites (.gov, .edu, .org)
What information do you include for a book with one author? (ALL of it)
Author. Title. Publisher, publication date (year).
Which is preferable: short quotes or long quotes? Why?
Short quotes. They allow you to spend more time on your words, rather than filling space with another paper
What four pieces of information go in the heading on the first page of your paper? (DIFFERENT than header)
Your name, professor's name, course number, due date
What do brackets within a quote signify?
You replaced or added words within the quote
If a website does not have an author, how would you begin the Works Cited entry for it?
With the title of the section (if applicatble) or the title of the website
What information do you include for a work in an anthology? (ALL of it)
Author of smaller work. Title of smaller work (quotations). Title of anthology (Italicized), Editors of anthology. Publisher, date, page numbers where smaller work appears.
What is an example of a signal phrase? In other words, how might you introduce a quote?
According to X; X states that; X found that
How should the title of your paper appear on the first page of the essay?
Regular 12 pt. font--NOT bold; no underline; no extra spaces around it. Title Case (first letter of each word is capitalized)
Name two things that make citing a long quote different from a short quote
Period goes BEFORE citation, quote gets put in block form (indented 10 spaces from left margin), no quotes around it
If you have more than one work by the same author, how do you know which to list first on your Works Cited page?
In alphabetical order by title
What information do you include for an entire website?
Author or editor, title of site, sponsoring organization, date of publication or update
Why can't you use Wikipedia as a source in an academic essay?
Not an academic source, Not an original source