Getting Familiar with MLA Works Cited
(See SMH, Ch. 18d; specific example of
MLA essay on p. 337)
Books with one author:
Nabokov, Vladimir. Lolita. New York: Putnam Press, 1955. Print.
Books with two authors:
Cross, Susan, and Christine Hoffman. Bruce Nauman: Theaters of Experience. New Work: Guggenheim
Museum, 2004. Print.
Book chapter / Work in and anthology:
Kowalewski, Michael.
“Jack Kerouac and the Beats in
Regional Literature. Ed. David Fine and Paul Skenazy. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico
Press, 2005. 126-43. Print.
Journal article:
Shefter, Martin.
“Institutional Conflict over Presidential Appointments: The Case of
Clarence Thomas.” PS:
Political Science & Politics 25.4 (2004): 676-79. Print.
Magazine article:
Pirisi, Angela. “Eye-catching advertisements.” Psychology Today Jan.-Feb. 2001: 14. Print.
Newspaper article, no author:
“Study Ties Self-Delusion to Successful Marriages.” New York Times 2 Jan. 1998, late ed.: A11. Print.
Website:
Tythe, Gregory. “Mahatma Gandhi: The Missing Laureate.” Nobelprize.org. Nobel Foundation, 1 Dec.
1999. Web. 4 May 2005.
Personal Photograph:
Homecoming Dance. Personal photograph of the author. 22 Sept. 2007.
Getting Familiar with MLA In-Text
Citation and Quote Integration (SMH Ch. 18b)
*Do not leave your quotes “naked.” Make sure they are clearly connected
to the argument you are trying to make.
NO: There was a lot of
excitement surrounding the issue. “Hype is an artificially engineered
atmosphere of hysteria” (Bucshmann 2).
YES: “Hype,” as one
critic indicates, is, “an artificially engineered atmosphere of hysteria” (Bucshmann 2).
*Use brackets ([ ]) and ellipses (. . .) to change verbs or other
parts of the original quotes when necessary.
NO: Dwight was a bully
who took out his anger and insecurity on those who were weaker than he. He was
very similar to the bully author Claude Wolff describes from his own childhood:
“he would kill anything he saw” “He killed chipmunks, squirrels, blue jays, and
robins” (Wolff 171). The unsettling…
YES: Dwight was a
bully who took out his anger and insecurity on those who were weaker than he.
He was very similar to the bully author Claude Wolff describes from his own
childhood: “he would kill anything he saw…He killed chipmunks, squirrels, blue
jays, and robins” (Wolff 171). The unsettling…
*At the end of the quote, use the QUO-PAR-PUNC Rule: Quotation
marks-Parentheses-Punctuation. Within
the parentheses, you usually write the author's last name and the page number.
If you are only quoting from one book throughout your paper, then you only have
to put the page number.
NO: Family plays “a
strong role in individual development, according to many psychological studies (Kal 102).” The family unit…
YES: Family plays “a
strong role in individual development,” according to many psychological
studies” (Kal 102). The family unit…
Note: If
a quote ends with a question mark or exclamation point, then put that
punctuation before the quotation marks, to make sure the intended emotion is
retained.
Ex.:
Jacobs, a
sociologist, questions the validity of emails as “proper social tools”
(210). “Are texted conversations,” wonders
Jacobs “really creating a ‘tie that binds’?” (211). Certainly
it is a good…
*If there is a quote within the quote you are using, then use single
quotation marks to set off the inner quote.
Ex.:
When Lena shows Ying-Ying around
her new house, Ying-Ying complains that “the slant of the floor makes her feel
as if she is ‘running down’” (Tan 163; ch.4). This speaks to …
*When your quote is longer than four lines, “block it off” from the rest
of your paragraph. In this case, you don't use quotation marks, and the
QUO-PAR-PUNC rule does not apply. (Note: Avoid using very long quotes; they often
take away your voice.)
Ex.:
Lady Macbeth calls on supernatural
powers so that she can assist in Duncan's murder:
. . . Come you spirits
That tend on mortal
thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty.
Make thick my blood.
Stop up th'access and passage to
remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of
nature
Shake my fell purpose. (Macbeth
1.5.47-53)
Lady Macbeth thus reveals the
all-consuming nature of her ambition: she is even willing to give up her
identity as a woman to get what she wants. (And the paper goes on from there.)
*Last but not least, always remember to cite your quotes! Do not risk
plagiarizing the author's words.