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Research - MLA Information
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Citation
Machine
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MLA Works Cited Guide
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Diana
Hacker - Writer's Reference ONLINE
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MLA Sample Works Cited Entries
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| This page will help you format your source
cards, bibliography entries, and parenthetical references. For the purpose
of this essay, you will be using Modern Language Association (MLA) format for
all formatting. This is a rather complicated system, so begin applying the
rules in the early stages of writing. The worst thing you could do to
yourself is to save all of the MLA and documentation work until the end of the
essay. You would then have to try and do it all within a couple of days
and the quality of your essay would be compromised. Below are several
templates to help you put together various parts of the research essay that
require MLA formatting.
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Source Pages
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On your source pages, you should have an MLA
style bibliography entry for each source. This requires that you
follow MLA guidelines. Get it right now, so that you can transfer the
information from your source pages directly to your works cited page when you
get to that point in the writing process. Below are three templates to help
you format the entries on the source cards. Note that the entries are in
"hanging format," in other words, the second line of each is
indented. The bold listings are required for each type of
entry. The others you may add if they apply.
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Parenthetical Referencing
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In the text of your essay, when you use a
source quotation, paraphrase, or summary, you need to reference that source in
parentheses--hence the name "parenthetical reference." This is
not any easy task, as the rules of MLA documentation are confusing and
complex. And with the advent of electronic texts, it becomes even more
difficult. Here are a few guidelines to get you started. I would,
however, recommend using a guide book, such as Writers INC or the MLA
Handbook.
- When the source has an author, use their last
name followed by the page number if the source is a book: (Bartholet 47)
- For a source without an author, default to
the book or website title. (Biography.com)
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Bibliography
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Ultimately, the bibliography information on
your source cards will end up forming your bibliography, or the Works
Cited page of your essay. The Works Cited page is the final
list of all the sources you use in your essay. As with the source
cards, there is a complicated set of rules governing the format of your
bibliography entries. There are excellent websites, however,
that help you with specific formatting questions. Also, I've included
a page of sample MLA entries. Click on the links below to use these
tools:
MLA
Sample Bibliography Entries
University
of Southern Mississippi Library Web Site
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Templates
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Book
Author's Name. "Article
or Chapter Title." Book Title. Editor's
name. Location of Publisher: Publishing Company, Year of Publication.
Pages.
Example:
Sullivan,
Richard; Sherman, Dennis; & Harrison, John.
A Short History of
Western Civilization: Volume One: to
1776.
8th edition. New
York: McGraw Hill, 1994.
Magazine
Author's Name. "Article
Title." Magazine Title. Date of Publication: pages.
Example:
Bartholet,
Jeffrey. “Method to the
Madness.” Newsweek.
22 Oct. 2001: 45-59.
Website
Author's
Name. "Page Title." Site Title. Date
Viewed. <http://www.webaddress.com/>.
Example:
“Bin
Laden, Osama.” Biography.com.
3/21/05. <http://www.biography.com>.
Interview
Interviewee's
Name. Type of Interview. Date.
Example:
Frank
Davis. Email Interview. 4/20/05.
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