MLA Style

In-text Citations

100

Does the in-text citation below follow MLA style?

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford UP, 1967. Print.

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Yes.

(Author's last name Page #)

(Wordsworth 263)

200

When is a citation not needed?

"Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for ... common knowledge. Remember, this is a rhetorical choice, based on audience. If you're writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, they'll have different expectations of what constitutes common knowledge." --- Purdue OWL

300

When is it OK to include ONLY the page number inside the parenthesis of an in-text citation?

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford UP, 1967. Print.

Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

400

Does the in-text citation below follow MLA style? Why or why not?

"The Impact of Global Warming in North America." Global Warming: Early Signs. 1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.

We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . ." (The Impact of Global Warming in North America 6).

No. Quotations needed around the article title.

We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . ." ("Impact of Global Warming" 6).

"Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text, must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry in the Works Cited List." --- Purdue Owl

500

How should you format quotes that are four or more lines in length?

Block quote - you don't format in quotation marks - appears 1/2" from the left side margin; maintain double-spacing

Works Cited Page

100

What's the first component of a Works Cited entry?

Author's last name. When available.

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. 

200

True or False: When writing a citation for a website, you should always include the website's URL.

Include a URL or web address to help readers locate your sources. Because web addresses are not static (i.e., they change often) and because documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the web (e.g., on multiple databases), MLA encourages the use of citing containers such as Youtube, JSTOR, Spotify, or Netflix in order to easily access and verify sources. However, MLA only requires the www. address, so eliminate all https:// when citing URLs.

300

When should you use italics in a Works Cited page? When should you use quotes?

"Use italics for titles of larger works (books, magazines basically publication titles - the publication titles) and quotation marks for titles of shorter works (poems, articles)." --- Purdue Owl

400

After a long night of scouring the internet for scholarly articles, you finally stumbled upon a relevant and reliable article, downloaded it, and wrote the below citation for it. You were just about to print out your Works Cited page when you realized there's something wrong with this citation. What's wrong?

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases 6.6 (2000): 595-600.

Include the web address, since you found the article online.

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases 6.6 (2000): 595-600. www.emerginginfectiousdiseases.com. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

500

This Works Cited page does not follow MLA style in at least three ways. Name these three inaccuracies.

Works Cited

Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." Usnews.com. US News & World Rept., 6 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009. Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003.

"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. www.blueprint.com. Accessed 24 May 2009.

Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May 2007. www.interview.com. Accessed 25 May 2009.

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

GlobalWarming.org. Cooler Heads Coalition, 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-evolutionary Economics of Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 14.1 (2007): 27-36. Print.

An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore, Billy West. Paramount, 2006. DVD.

Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology. New York: Springer, 2005. Print.

Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. rogerebert.com. Sun-Times News Group, 2 June 2006. www.ebert.com. Accessed 24 May 2009.

Milken, Michael, Gary Becker, Myron Scholes, and Daniel Kahneman. "On Global Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly 23.4 (2006): 63.

Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review 96.2 (2006): 31-34.

---. "Global Warming Economics." Science 9 Nov. 2001: 1283-84. Science Online. www.science.com. Accessed 24 May 2009.

There are many different mistakes in this page. 

The biggest error is the organization - not in alphabetical order. 

Paper Formatting

100

True or False: All papers written in this class should be in 12-point, Times New Roman font. They should also be double-spaced with 1-inch margins.

True

200

True or False: You should create a title page for your researched argument essay.

False! MLA style does not require a title page.

300

What goes in the paper's upper right hand corner?

Author's last name and page #

Everdeen 1

400

What's a hanging indent?

All lines but the first line are indented. Use hanging indents in your works cited pages.

500

Fix the heading below so that it follows MLA style.

Elizabeth L. Angeli
Professor Sullivan
English 624
February 12, 2012

Elizabeth L. Angeli
Professor Sullivan
English 624
12 February 2012

MLA Trivia

100

True or False: Since its first printing in 1985, the MLA Style Manual has not made significant revisions to its guidelines.

False it is on it's 8th edition.

200

True or False: All subjects use MLA guidelines for their papers.

False: There are different styles for different subjects and works. APA: psychology, education, and other social sciences.

MLA: literature, arts, and humanities.

300

MLA is one of many styles currently in use. Name two other styles.

MLA: literature, arts, and humanities.

APA: psychology, education, and other social sciences.

AMA: medicine, health, and biological sciences.

Turabian: designed for college students to use with all subjects.

Chicago: used with all subjects in the "real world" by books, magazines, newspapers, and other non-scholarly publications.

400

When was the MLA founded? Best guess within 20 years.

1883

500

What does MLA stand for?

Modern Language Association

Punctuation and Abbreviation

100

What is the function of the ellipses in the quote below?

In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes that "some individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale . . . and in a short time a lively exchange of details occurs" (78).

Use ellipses when omitting words.

200

What is the function of the brackets in the quote below?

Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states, "some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78).

Use brackets when adding words inside a quote.

300

What does "et al" mean? When would you use it?

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Utah State UP, 2004.

Use when a source has more than 3 or more authors.

400

What does "n.d." stand for?

No date available.

"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow. Demand Media, n.d. www.eHow.com. Accessed 24 Feb. 2009.

500

When should you use three dashes (---) on a Works Cited page?

When you have two or more works by the same author.

Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review, vol. 65, no. 2, 2006, pp. 31-34.

---. "Global Warming Economics." Science 9 Nov. 2001, pp. 1283-1284. Science Online, www.science.com. Accessed 24 May 2009.