MLA Documentation

Of Research Papers

 

Goals:

--To give credit to the author of a given source, both a) when we quote his or her exact words or b) when we state his or her ideas or information in our own words.

 

--To help an interested reader locate an original source for further reading.

 

Major Styles:

1) MLA style (Modern Language Association)—for the humanities (literature, history, and religion, for example). You will use this style for most undergraduate college research papers.

2) APA style (American Psychological Association)—for the social sciences (psychology, political science, and sociology, among others) and business, especially in advanced-level or graduate courses.

 

 

Two Components:

1) In-text citation—given in parentheses at the end of both a) quotations, and

b) sections giving the ideas or information of an author in your own words. It includes minimal source information, so as not to interrupt your text more than necessary.

2) “Works Cited” list—an alphabetical bibliography given at the end of a research paper. The in-text citations lead to this bibliographical list, which gives an interested reader more detailed source information.     

 

 

Tips:

--The following page gives the MLA style format for common kinds of research sources. (The all-caps indicate the kind of information.) For special cases and examples, see the “MLA” formats at: http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/.

 

--For dates: a) The format for dates is DAY MONTH YEAR—with no punctuation between.

 b) Abbreviate the names of all months (for example, “Nov.”), except for May, June, and July.

--With page numbers: There is no “p” or “pp” before page numbers, just the number itself.)

 

--When figuring out the format for a citation, it can help to recall the goals for documentation: The in-text citations should be brief and guide the reader to the correct item in the alphabetized “Works Cited” entry. The “Works Cited” entry gives enough information for an interested reader to locate the source, whether it is in print or on the internet.

 

--When a source which was originally available in print is found on the internet, the print information is given first in the “Works Cited” entry, and then online info.

 

 

MLA Documentation in Research Paper

 

In-Text Citations

-- basic pattern:  (AUTHOR  PAGE)

                              -- if you give author’s name in your text:  (PAGE)

--if no author is given: (TITLE--FIRST 2-3 WORDS    PAGE)

 

         --internet source w/ no page #:  (AUTHOR)

--internet source w/ no author or page number (TITLE—2-3wds. or HEADING—2-3wds)

 

For examples and special cases, see “MLA” at: http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/

 

 

“Work Cited” List

 

(Note the punctuation--the periods, commas and colons, along with the underlining and the ”quotation marks”-- below. Also, note that you will capitalize normally, not with all-caps.)

 

Print Sources

--basic pattern:

AUTHOR.  TITLE. PUBLISHING INFO.

 

-- book:

 AUTHOR LAST NAME, FIRST. TITLE. PLACE OF PUBLICATION: PUBLISHER, YEAR.

 

--magazine:

AUTHOR LAST NAME, FIRST. “TITLE.”  MAGAZINE   DAY MONTH YEAR:  PAGE/S.

 

--newspaper:

AUTHOR LAST NAME, FIRST. “TITLE” NEWSPAPER   DAY MONTH YEAR:  PAGE/S.         

 

--journal:

AUTHOR LAST NAME FIRST. “TITLE.’’ JOURNAL VOLUME  (YEAR):  PAGE/S

 

Online Sources

--article in online magazine:

AUTHOR LAST NAME, FIRST. “TITLE.”  MAGAZINE   DATE OF PUBLICATION.   DATE OF ACCESS <URL>.

 

--magazine article located through Baruch College database:

AUTHOR LAST NAME,  FIRST. “TITLE.”  MAGAZINE   DAY MONTH YEAR: PAGE/S.

 DATABASE. Baruch College Newman Library.  DATE OF ACCESS <URL>.

 

--text on professional or commercial web site:

AUTHOR LAST NAME, FIRST. “TITLE.” NAME OF SITE. DATE OF UPDATE.  SPONSOR OF SITE. DATE OF ACCESS < URL>.

 

For examples and special cases, see “MLA” at:  http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/