MLA Style

What is MLA Style?
MLA citation style refers to the rules and conventions established by the Modern Language Association for acknowledging sources used in a research paper.
Check out the MLA Center website.

Why is it Important that I cite sources?
Citing sources is simply acknowledging that someone else had an idea before you did. The same is true of information. If you read someone else’s words or ideas but change the wording, those words/ideas do not suddenly belong to you. You must give credit to the person from whom you took them.

What is plagiarism?
According to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, to plagiarize is to “steal or pass off the ideas or words of another as one’s one without crediting the source” (Webster 886).

How can I avoid plagiarism?
The easiest way to avoid plagiarism is to simply be sure to give credit to the sources you use. If you are using direct quotes (someone’s exact words), be sure to place the words within quotation marks.

What is a “Works Cited” Page?

A “Works Cited” page is the name that MLA gives to a bibliography. It is a listing of all of the sources you cited in the body of your paper. Here are a few things to keep in mind about the “Works Cited” page:

  1. The “Works Cited” page is always going to be the last page of your essay or report. You should type the words “Works Cited” and center it on the page.
  2. Each entry must be complete and accurate. See examples of common print and non-print in correct bibliographic format can be found in the Purdue Owl website https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
  3. Each entry reads like one long sentence. What this means is that it does not matter where the second line begins in an entry; it begins on the second line only because you ran out of room on the first line.
  4. The second and subsequent lines are always indented five spaces.
  5. The sources are listed alphabetically by the first word or name of the entry. This first word or name should be what you use in your parenthetical citation.
  6. On-line Tools and Resources for Writing Citations in MLA Format http://www.easybib.com