EAP 1540C - Prof. Solley: MLA Videos: Citing Sources

• Start Works Cited on a new page.
• Times New Roman, 12 pt. font.
• Double space all entries.
• Do NOT include the URL (link) in the citation. Links do not belong in MLA 7th format.
• Add the hanging indent for all lines of a citation after the first line. Either by formatting for hanging or adding five spaces or one tab.

• Use in-text citations for direct quotes & paraphrasing.
• All in-text citations must have a Works Cited entry.
• (Jones 47) is an example of a parenthetical citation and comes at the end of a sentence, before the period.
• Jones writes, "Goats are playful animals" (47). is an example of citing the author's name in the attribute section of the sentence.
• In her 2004 work Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, Lynne Truss explains, ". . . " is an example of introducing a source the first time you cite it in the paper.
• Citations with less than 4 authors, spell out all authors names in the citation (Stuart, Jones, and Smith 101).
• Citations with 4 or more authors, spell out the first authors name followed by et al. and the page number (Henry et al. 98).
• If the source does not have page numbers, leave them out of the citation (Elliot).
  
• If the source has numbered sections or paragraphs, use:
  
• (Elliot, par. 4) or
• (Elliot, pars. 7-9)
• (Elliot, sec. 5) or
• (Elliot, secs. 6-8)

Block Quote Rules:

• Quotations are the exact words from the source.
• If the quote you want to use is more than four lines you will need to make it a block quote.
• Do NOT use quotation marks for block quotes (4 or more lines).
• The lead-in to a block quote will end with a colon :
• The entire block quote will be indented 1 inch (or two tabs).
• In a block quote you will add the paranthetical page number afer the ending punctuation and before starting a new paragraph.
• ALWAYS cite paraphrased information & quotes. 
• Add the page number when citing quotes.

Paraphrasing Rules:

• Paraphrasing is rewritting information from the source in your own words.
• Do NOT use quotation marks for paraphrased information.
• If you want to include a unique word or phrase from the source, add quotation marks around the word in your sentence, and cite at the end of the sentence. Example from the video:

Genetics is partially responsible for a person's happiness establishing a"set-point" for how happy one can be (Peterson and Park 304).

ALWAYS cite paraphrased information & quotes. 

For more information read your MLA Handbook 3.7.1-3.7.8  and 6.1-6.2 or check-out the Purdue OWL webpage.