English 102: Argument and Research with Professor Williamson

MLA guidelines for research papers do not provide for a title page, but some instructors require one. Always follow the professor’s requirements. Otherwise, MLA guidelines are as follows. At the top, far-left side of the page, type the following information on four separate double-spaced lines:

Your name

Instructors name

Course name/number

Date

         After the date, double-space again and type the title of the paper in the center of the page.  Double-space again, make a one-half inch indent, then begin typing the paper, always double-spacing every line and using a one-half inch indent at the beginning of each new paragraph.

Example:

Faith L. Brown

Professor Roberts

English 220

14 November 2015

When Realism and Fantasy Intersect: What Works, What Doesn’t

             Octavia Butler masterfully combines realism and fantasy in several of her works, but most notably in the acclaimed novel, Kindred.

Tips: 

• Use the regular font style and size, do not use boldface, italics or type in all capitals – keep it plain and simple. 
• The date should be written European style: date month year.

• Double-space the entire paper.
• Use 1-inch margins all around the paper; top, bottom, left and right.
• Indent the first line of each new paragraph one-half inch from the left margin. (NOTE: This is not true for the “Works Cited” list. See guidelines for the Works Cited page.)
• Quotes longer than four (4) lines should be formatted in a block of text one-half inch from the left margin.

Place your last name followed by the page number in the upper-right corner, one-half inch from the top and flush against the one-inch right margin. Most writing programs will allow you to create a ‘running head’ that will place your name and the correct page number automatically on each page.

Example:

Brown 2 

Bulter’s skillful use of fantasy (time-travel) and realism (the historical reality of life for the enslaved on the 

Tips:

• Please note that you do not place the word ‘page’ or the abbreviation p. before the number, or a period after the number.
• Also, note that the page number with your name is placed one-half inch – ½ inch – from the top of the page.
• As always follow your instructor’s directions. Some may not want a running head with the page number on the first page.

Authors Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, publication date. 

Example 1.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Bantam Books, 1986.

Example 2. eBook

Gikandi, Simon. Ngugi wa Thiong'O. Cambridge UP, 2000. ACLS Humanities E-book, hdl.handle.net/2027/heb.07588.0001.001. 

* This ebook example comes from the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, page 34.

Tips & Notes:

• The city of publication is no longer required.
• If a book has three or more authors, list the first author's name followed by a comma and the words: et al.
• When citing an eBook, you will want to use the Core Elements template to help you locate the correct information in the correct sequence. In the example above, the additional information specific to the version and location of the online eBook follows the typical information always required for a book in any format or version.

The challenge of citing information from rapidly changing and evolving sources is one of the reasons that MLA changed its' approach in the eighth edition and added the Core Elements worksheet or template. Although an example of a social media (Twitter) source is given below, this is not the approach the MLA Handbook is encouraging. Instead, take time to read and use the Core Elements template, and you will soon be generating your own citations with confidence without having to view a specific example.

Sohaib Athar@reallyVirtual. “Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1 AM (is a rare event).” Twitter, 1 May 2011, 12:58 p.m., twitter.com/reallyvirtual/status/64780730286358528?lang=en. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.

Tips & Note:

• Access dates are now optional.

The challenge of citing information from rapidly changing and evolving sources is one of the reasons that MLA changed its' approach in the eighth edition and added the Core Elements worksheet or template. Although an example of an online video source is given below, this is not the approach the MLA Handbook is encouraging. Instead, take time to read and use the Core Elements template, and you will soon be generating your own citations with confidence without having to view a specific example.

Example 1.

“Top 10 Most Dangerous Toys to Watch for this Holiday Season.” FoxNews.com, 16 Nov. 2016, www.video.foxnews.com/v/5561334743001/?#sp=show-clips. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.

Example 2.

"What are Databases and Why You Need Them." YouTube, uploaded by Yavapai College Library, 29 Sept. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2GMtIuaNzU. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.

Tips & Notes:

• News videos - which rapidly disappear or are archived to different locations - are good examples of when and why it is helpful to include an access date.
• In example one, since the name of the Website where the video is located and the publisher of the Website are essentially the same, the name is only listed once in the "container" position.
• In example two, although the video is posted on YouTube, YouTube is not the publisher (uploader), it is the host Website - or "container" - of the video.
• Since the author and the publisher (uploader) in example two are the same, the name only needs to be listed once in the publisher (uploaded by) position. If the author and the publisher (the person or entity which uploaded it) were different, then each name must be given.

The challenge of citing information from rapidly changing and evolving sources is one of the reasons that MLA changed its' approach in the eighth edition and added the Core Elements worksheet or template. Although an two examples of Website sources is given below, this is not the approach the MLA Handbook is encouraging. Instead, take time to read and use the Core Elements template, and you will soon be generating your own citations with confidence without having to view a specific example.

Example 1.

Rucker-Shamu, Marian. “Dean's Welcome: Welcome to the Thurgood Marshall Library,” Thurgood Marshall Library, Bowie State University, 2018, www.bowiestate.edu/academics-research/library/deans-welcome/. Accessed 9 March 2018.  

Example 2.

“Becoming a Vegetarian.” Harvard Women's Health Watch, Harvard Health Publishing, December 4, 2017, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian. Accessed 9 March 2018.

Tips & Notes:

• Access dates are now optional
• ​Publishers of Websites can often be found in the small print copyright information at the bottom of the Home or About page ​
• If the publishers name is essentially the same as the title of the Website, then it can be omitted
• Do not list the Website as the publisher if the Website is merely a 'host' of a work and was not involved in producing the work. For example, a University Website might host a digital collection of rare books, but it did not produce them. Therefore, using the Core Elements worksheet as a guide, it would be listed in the 'container' position, not in the 'publisher' position of the citation.