Outline/Works Cited - due in 36 hours
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MLAStyle_228815751.pptxMLA STYLE
MLA Style within the Paper
You will use quotations from your primary source (the novel you chose) and secondary sources (your research materials) to prove your point.
Those quotations must follow these guidelines:
They must be introduced with a short phrase. I like to mention some combination of the author’s name, her/his profession, the name of the article/book the quote comes from
Quotes not begun with an intro phrase are called DROPPED QUOTES and will be marked off.
They must be placed in quotation marks. (Some teachers allow paraphrasing; I do not. I want direct quotes only, all in quotation marks.)
They must be followed by the page number from which the quotation comes. If there is no page number available (rare), the citation should read “n.p.”
See the next slide for examples.
The quotation I’m using is by James Snyder. It comes from his article “Analyzing Dante” and is found on page 84.
Correct: In his article, “Analyzing Dante,” James Snyder notes that, “Dante’s poetry is masterful in both form and content” (84).
I introduce my quotation w/ author’s name and title of his article. This way, the reader knows where the quote comes from before reading it. I set off the quote with a comma.
I choose a brief quotation and put it in quotation marks.
I close my quotation marks, then put the page number of the quotation in parentheses. I put my period OUTSIDE the parentheses.
Some other ideas for introductory phrases include:
According to John Smith, “Quote goes here” (22).
John Smith, a leading scholar of Dante, believes, “Quote goes here” (22).
Some critics, including John Smith, argue that, “Quote goes here” (22).
What If?
What if I can’t find a page number?
According to John Smith, “Diet Coke is better than regular Coke” (n.p.).
What if my source doesn’t list an author?
Introduce the quote w/ just the name of the article/book.
What if the quote I want to use is really long?
Do NOT include the whole thing. Narrow down to the section that seems most important. If that means you have to remove part of a quote, use ellipses to signify something has been removed.
Ex: According to John Smith, “Every variety of Coke… is tested with a quality assurance team” (25).
If you are going to use this option, make sure the removal of words/phrases does not alter the meaning of the sentence(s).
Where Does the Quote Go?
Every body paragraph in a research paper should, ideally, include one brief quote from the primary source (your novel) and one brief quote from an outside source. Both should be analyzed afterward.
We still never begin or end a paragraph with a quotation. Paragraphs should begin with a topic sentence (giving an overview of the paragraph’s main idea), all quotations both from primary and secondary sources should be analyzed afterward, and all body paragraphs should end with a transition into the next big idea.
In this module, there is a sample research paper body paragraph so that you can see how these elements fit together.
MLA Style in the Works Cited
Every book, article, or other source you quote in your paper must have a corresponding entry on your Works Cited page.
Do not include any source on your Works Cited page that was not directly quoted in your paper.
Use the Citation Tools in the library’s online databases to make your citations for you (so you don’t have to write them from scratch!). Instructions for this can be found in the Library Research Video in this module.
Double check these. Sometimes the formatting/italics/page numbers become jumbled in the process of copying and pasting and will need to be corrected.
Your Works Cited page should be double-spaced with a hanging indent on each entry. Find instructions for this in the Library Research video.
The entries on your Works Cited page should be alphabetized by the author’s last name. If no author is listed, use the first letter of the title of the work.
Your Works Cited page should be numbered sequentially with the rest of your paper. (If your paper is five pages long, your Works Cited page is page 6. Do not write a separate heading for this page.)
Your entries should not be numbered or bullet pointed. There should not be extra spaces between entries.
A sample Works Cited page is included for you in this module.
