MLA format is used across multiple disciplines to streamline the visual format of written work within those disciplines. Please use the following guidelines to ensure submitted assignments are properly formatted in MLA style through the Word software program (not the online version).
In this class, your work cannot incorporate a certain list of "disease" words. Why? Read on below for more information on why we'll consider these words persona non grata in this class. Overall, removing disease words improves the quality of your writing to ensure your ideas exhibit clear, logical organization in a tone appropriate for academic writing (vs. more informal, everyday language).
Essay documents, often called "manuscripts," need formatting in MLA style, too. Read below for more info. on how to set up an ID tag, page number header, the essay title, line spacing, and paragraph structures.
In-text citations function as a means to identify giving credit to other sources you've incorporated in your own work. Forgetting or neglecting to cite source material from other authors could be misconstrued as plagiarism, which means you've taken another person's ideas, organization of an argument, or replicated their wording and claimed that information as your own.
The Work(s) Cited page lists all the sources you cite in the body of your essay, whether that's one or twelve. Never include sources on the WC page if you haven't cited them in the text of your essay. Read below for more details.
I've included some document downloads at the bottom of this page for you to use as needed to ensure everything has correct formatting.
Disease words cause errors in your writing, while others create convoluted or passively structured sentences that make your ideas less accessible for the reader to understand.
Your goal this semester: remove at least 90% of all “diseased” words from your assignment submissions. What counts as a disease word? How do I remove them?
Follow this link to the Disease Words & How to Remove Them page for more information.
Important Reminder:
**Students who do not remove the majority of disease words from their work will automatically have assigns. returned for a "REDO."**
Other Resources to Reference:
Each source incorporated in your work should support your argument and have an in-text citation and a Works Cited source item to credit the original author(s). However, there are specific considerations depending on the source type, available info., and retrieval location.
First, let's talk about some general considerations for the in-text citations that go into the body text of your written essays.
Next, let's review/compare some specifics based on typical citation contents you'll encounter.
Website Specifics:
Short-Fiction Specifics:
Poetry/Song Specifics:
Online Database Journal Article Specifics:
Resources to Reference:
Each source incorporated in your work should have an in-text citation and a Works Cited source item. Here, we're talking about the Work(s) Cited page component of the source citations.
Readers should be able to "match" an in-text citation to its WC source partner through matching first identifiers. These first identifiers, or the first item in the source citations, are typically an author's last name or the title of the work.
Sometimes, source citation components do not exist--that’s fine; simply omit them after thoroughly searching the entire source location to ensure they really don’t exist.
General Formatting Considerations:
The MLA 9th ed WC Source Examples list available in the Useful Resource Downloads section below offers a majority of examples for the regularly cited source types in this course.
When in doubt, ask Ms. Liz or a Writing Tutor for help. DO NOT rely on citation generators; more often than not, they offer inaccurate formatting or omit vital citation components.
Other Resources for Your Reference:
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