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Smith 1 John
Smith My Life as a Fry Guy
One of the most interesting jobs currently available to unskilled
workers is the fry guy postion at Burger King.
In my opinion, working the fryer is |
In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done in two ways. When you make reference to someone else's idea, either through paraphrasing or quoting them directly, you:
This allows people to know which sources you used in writing your essay and then be able to look them up themselves, so that they can use them in their scholarly work. Here are some basic guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text. For additional help with citing the works of others, see our additional resources section.
MLA
format follows the author-page method of citation. This means that the
author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation is
taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear in
your works cited list (see Your Works Cited Page, below). The author's
name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses
following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should
always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.
For
example:
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Romantic
poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263). |
If the work you are making reference to has no author, use an
abbreviated version of the work’s title. For non-print sources, such
as films, TV series, pictures, or other media, or electronic sources,
include the name that begins the entry in the Works Cited page.
For example:
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Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even her or his full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. If you cite more than one work by a particular author, include a shortened title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the other works by that same person.
For example:
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Although some medical ethicists claim that cloning will lead to designer children (R. Miller 12), others note that the advantages for medical research outweigh this consideration (A. Miller 46). Two works by the same author: Lightenor
has argued that computers are not useful tools for small children
("Too Soon" 38), though he has acknowledged that early
exposure to computer games does lead to better small motor skill
development in a child's second and third year ("Hand-Eye
Development" 17). |
When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format quotations differently depending on whether they are long or short quotations. Formatting quotations using MLA style is covered in section 3.9 of the MLA Style Manual (which begins on page 102), and section 2.7 of the of the Handbook for Writing Research Papers (which begins on page 80). Here are some basic guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper.
To
indicate short quotations (fewer than four typed lines of prose or three
lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double
quotation marks and incorporate it into your text. Provide the author
and specific page citation (in the case of verse, provide line numbers)
in the text, and include a complete reference in the works-cited list.
Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after
the parenthetical citation. Question marks and exclamation points should
appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quoted
passage but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part of your
text.
For
example:
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According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184). Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)? Cullen
concludes, "Of all the things that happened there/ That's all
I remember" (11-12). |
Place
quotations longer than four typed lines in a free-standing block of
typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a
new line, indented one inch from the left margin, and maintain
double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come after the
closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line
breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing throughout your essay.)
For
example:
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They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Brontë 78)
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The works cited list should appear at the end of your essay. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and be able to read any sources you cite in the essay. Each source you cite in the essay must appear in your works-cited list; likewise, each entry in the works-cited list must be cited in your text. Preparing your works cited list using MLA style is covered in chapter six of the MLA Style Manual, and chapter four of the Handbook for Writing Research Papers. Here are some guidelines for preparing your works cited list.
For more about formatting your works cited page, visit MLA List of Works Cited (from Research and Documentation Online, available at http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/humanities/list.html), view a Sample Works Cited Page (from A Research Guide for Students, available at http://www.aresearchguide.com/10works.html#sampleworks), or visit some of the links in our additional resources section.
Author(s). Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray, 1999.
(After the first listing, use three hyphens and a period for the author's name. List books alphabetically.)
Palmer,
William J. Dickens and New Historicism. New York: St. Martin's,
1997.
---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1993.
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000.
If there are more than three authors, you may list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (the abbreviation for the Latin phrase "and others") in place of the other authors' names, or you may list all the authors in the order in which their names appear on the title page.
Encyclopedia
of Indiana. New York: Somerset, 1993.
"Cigarette Sales Fall 30% as California Tax Rises." New
York Times 14 Sept. 1999: A17.
For parenthetical citations of sources with no author named, use a shortened version of the title instead of an author's name. Use quotation marks and underlining as appropriate. For example, parenthetical citations of the two sources above would appear as follows: (Encyclopedia 235) and ("Cigarette" A17).
Peterson, Nancy J., ed. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.
Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000. 24-34.
"Jamaica." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed.
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Source Day Month Year: pages.
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71.
Trembacki, Paul. "Brees Hopes to Win Heisman for Team." Purdue Exponent 5 Dec. 2000: 20.
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Vol (Year): pages.
"Vol" indicates the volume number of the journal. If the journal uses continuous pagination throughout a particular volume, only volume and year are needed, e.g. Modern Fiction Studies 40 (1998): 251-81. If each issue of the journal begins on page 1, however, you must also provide the issue number following the volume, e.g. Mosaic 19.3 (1986): 33-49.
Allen, Emily. "Staging Identity: Frances Burney's Allegory of Genre." Eighteenth-Century Studies 31 (1998): 433-51.
Duvall, John N. "The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise." Arizona Quarterly 50.3 (1994): 127-53.
Author(s). Name of Page. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site. Date of Access <electronic address>.
It is necessary to list your date of access because web postings are often updated, and information available at one date may no longer be available later. Be sure to include the complete address for the site. Also, note the use of angled brackets around the electronic address; MLA requires them for clarity.
Felluga,
Dino. Undergraduate Guide to Literary Theory. 17 Dec. 1999.
Purdue University. 15 Nov. 2000 <http://omni.cc.purdue.edu%7Efelluga/theory2.html>.
Purdue Online Writing Lab. 2003. Purdue University. 10 Feb. 2003 <http://owl.english.purdue.edu>.
It is necessary to list your date of access because web postings are often updated, and information available at one date may no longer be available later. Be sure to include the complete address for the site. Also, note the use of angled brackets around the electronic address; MLA requires them for clarity.
Author(s)."Article
Title." Name of web site. Date of posting/revision. Name of
institution/organization affiliated with site. Date of access
<electronic address>.
Poland, Dave. "The Hot Button." Roughcut. 26 Oct. 1998. Turner Network Television. 28 Oct. 1998 <http://www.roughcut.com>.
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume. Issue (Year): Pages/Paragraphs. Date of Access <electronic address>.
Some electronic journals and magazines provide paragraph or page numbers; include them if available. This format is also appropriate to online magazines; as with a print version, you should provide a complete publication date rather than volume and issue number.
Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases 6.6 (2000): 33 pars. 5 Dec. 2000 <http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no6/wheelis.htm>.
If you're citing an article or a publication that was originally issued in print form but that you retrieved from an online database that your library subscribes to, you should provide enough information so that the reader can locate the article either in its original print form or retrieve it from the online database (if they have access).
Provide the following information in your citation:
The generic citation form would look like this:
Author.
"Title of Article." Publication Name Volume Number (if
necessary) Publication Date: page number-page number. Database name.
Service name. Library Name, City, State. Date of access <electronic
address of the database>.
Here's an example:
Smith, Martin. "World Domination for Dummies." Journal of
Despotry Feb. 2000: 66-72. Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale Group
Databases. Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, IN. 19 February
2003 <http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com>.
Johnson, Jack. Personal Interview. 1 Dec. 2000.
Harris, Muriel. "Writing Labs: A Short History." 2003 Writing Center Conference. National Writing Centers Association. La Swank Hotel, Seattle. 28 March 2003.
"The Blessing Way." The X-Files. Fox. WXIA, Atlanta. 19 Jul. 1998.
U2. All That You Can't Leave Behind. Interscope, 2000.
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1995.
The information in this handout was taken from
Gibaldi, Joseph. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition. Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
Purdue University Online Writing Lab. “Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format.” Online Writing Lab. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/research/r_mla.html>.
Steps to Writing Well.
