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