MLA

Handbook
for Writers
of Research
Papers
Sixth Edition

Joseph Gibaldi

THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION

OF AMERICA
New York 2003
 Contents

Foreword by Phyllis Franklin xv

CHAPTER 1: Research and Writing

1.1. The Research Paper as a Form of Exploration 3
1.2. The Research Paper as a Form of Communication 5
1.3. Selecting a Topic 6
1.3.1. Freedom of Choice 6
1.3.2. Finding an Appropriate Focus 7
1.3.3. Summing Up 7
1.4. Conducting Research 8
1.4.1. The Modern Academic Library 8
1.4.2. Library Research Sources 9
1.4.3. The Central Information System 10
1.4.4. Reference Works 11
1.4.5. The Online Catalog of Library Holdings 20
1.4.6. Full-Text Databases 25
1.4.7. Other Library Resources and Services 30
1.4.8. Internet Sources 31
1.4.9. Summing Up 36
1.5. Compiling a Working Bibliography 37
1.5.1. Keeping Track of Sources 37
1.5.2. Creating a Computer File for the Working
Bibliography 37
1.5.3. Recording Essential Publication
Information 38
1.5.4. Noting Other Useful Information 40
1.5.5. Verifying Publication Information 40
1.5.6. Converting the Working Bibliography to the
Works-Cited List 40
1.5.7. Summing Up 41
1.6. Evaluating Sources 41
1.6.1. Authority 41
1.6.2. Accuracy and Verifiability 44
1.6.3. Currency 45
1.6.4. Summing Up 45
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1.7. Taking Notes 46

1.7.1. Methods of Note-Taking 46
1.7.2. Types of Note-Taking 46
1.7.3. Recording Page Numbers 47
1.7.4. Using a Computer for Note-Taking 47
1.7.5. Amount and Accuracy of Note-Taking 47
1.7.6. Summing Up 48
1.8. Outlining 48
1.8.1. Working Outline 48
1.8.2. Thesis Statement 49
1.8.3. Final Outline 51
1.8.4. Summing Up 56
1.9. Writing Drafts 57
1.9.1. The First Draft 57
1.9.2. Subsequent Drafts 57
1.9.3. Writing with a Word Processor 58
1.9.4. The Final Draft and the Research Project
Portfolio 59
1.9.5. Summing Up 59
1.10. Language and Style 60
1.11. Guides to Writing 61

CHAPTER 2: Plagiarism
2.1. Definition of Plagiarism 66
2.2. Consequences of Plagiarism 66
2.3. Information Sharing Today 68
2.4. Unintentional Plagiarism 69
2.5. Forms of Plagiarism 70
2.6. When Documentation Is Not Needed 73
2.7. Other Issues 74
2.7.1. Reusing a Research Paper 74
2.7.2. Collaborative Work 74
2.7.3. Copyright Infringement 74
2.8. Summing Up 75

CHAPTER 3: The Mechanics of Writing

3.1. Spelling 79
3.1.1. Consistency 79
3.1.2. Word Division 79
3.1.3. Plurals 80
3.1.4. Foreign Words 80
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3.2. Punctuation 80
3.2.1. The Purpose of Punctuation 80
3.2.2. Commas 81
3.2.3. Semicolons 85
3.2.4. Colons 86
3.2.5. Dashes and Parentheses 87
3.2.6. Hyphens 88
3.2.7. Apostrophes 90
3.2.8. Quotation Marks 91
3.2.9. Square Brackets 92
3.2.10. Slashes 93
3.2.11. Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation
Points 93
3.2.12. Spacing after Concluding Punctuation
Marks 93
3.3. Italics (Underlining) 94
3.3.1. Words and Letters Referred to as Words and
Letters 95
3.3.2. Foreign Words in an English Text 95
3.3.3. Emphasis 95
3.4. Names of Persons 96
3.4.1. First and Subsequent Uses of Names 96
3.4.2. Titles of Persons 96
3.4.3. Names of Authors and Fictional Characters 97
3.5. Numbers 97
3.5.1. Arabic Numerals 97
3.5.2. Use of Words or Numerals 98
3.5.3. Commas in Numbers 99
3.5.4. Percentages and Amounts of Money 100
3.5.5. Dates and Times of the Day 100
3.5.6. Inclusive Numbers 101
3.5.7. Roman Numerals 102
3.6. Titles of Works in the Research Paper 102
3.6.1. Capitalization and Punctuation 102
3.6.2. Underlined Titles 104
3.6.3. Titles in Quotation Marks 105
3.6.4. Titles and Quotations within Titles 106
3.6.5. Exceptions 107
3.6.6. Shortened Titles 109
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3.7. Quotations 109

3.7.1. Use and Accuracy of Quotations 109
3.7.2. Prose 110
3.7.3. Poetry 111
3.7.4. Drama 113
3.7.5. Ellipsis 114
3.7.6. Other Alterations of Sources 118
3.7.7. Punctuation with Quotations 119
3.7.8. Translations of Quotations 121
3.8. Capitalization and Personal Names in Languages
Other Than English 122
3.8.1. French 122
3.8.2. German 124
3.8.3. Italian 126
3.8.4. Spanish 127
3.8.5. Latin 129

CHAPTER 4: The Format of the Research Paper

4.1. Printing or Typing 132
4.2. Paper 132
4.3. Margins 132
4.4. Spacing 133
4.5. Heading and Title 133
4.6. Page Numbers 134
4.7. Tables and Illustrations 134
4.8. Corrections and Insertions 137
4.9. Binding 138
4.10. Electronic Submission 138

CHAPTER 5: Documentation: Preparing the List of Works Cited

5.1. Documenting Sources 142
5.2. MLA Style 142
5.3. The List of Works Cited and Other Source Lists 144
5.4. Format of the List of Works Cited 145
5.5. Arrangement of Entries 146
5.6. Citing Books and Other Nonperiodical
Publications 147
5.6.1. The Basic Entry: A Book by a Single
Author 147
5.6.2. An Anthology or a Compilation 152
5.6.3. Two or More Books by the Same Author 153
viii
CONTENTS

5.6.4. A Book by Two or More Authors 154

5.6.5. Two or More Books by the Same Authors 156
5.6.6. A Book by a Corporate Author 157
5.6.7. A Work in an Anthology 158
5.6.8. An Article in a Reference Book 160
5.6.9. An Introduction, a Preface, a Foreword, or an
Afterword 161
5.6.10. Cross-References 162
5.6.11. An Anonymous Book 163
5.6.12. An Edition 163
5.6.13. A Translation 165
5.6.14. A Book Published in a Second or
Subsequent Edition 166
5.6.15. A Multivolume Work 167
5.6.16. A Book in a Series 170
5.6.17. A Republished Book 171
5.6.18. A Publisher's Imprint 172
5.6.19. A Book with Multiple Publishers 173
5.6.20. A Pamphlet 174
5.6.21. A Government Publication 174
5.6.22. The Published Proceedings of a
Conference 176
5.6.23. A Book in a Language Other Than
English 177
5.6.24. A Book Published before 1900 177
5.6.25. A Book without Stated Publication
Information or Pagination 178
5.6.26. An Unpublished Dissertation 179
5.6.27. A Published Dissertation 179
5.7. Citing Articles and Other Publications in
Periodicals 180
5.7.1. The Basic Entry: An Article in a Scholarly
Journal with Continuous Pagination 180
5.7.2. An Article in a Scholarly Journal That Pages
Each Issue Separately 184
5.7.3. An Article in a Scholarly Journal That Uses
Only Issue Numbers 184
5.7.4. An Article in a Scholarly Journal with More
Than One Series 185
5.7.5. An Article in a Newspaper 185
ix
 CONTENTS

5.7.6. An Article in a Magazine 187

5.7.7. A Review 188
5.7.8. An Abstract in an Abstracts Journal 189
5.7.9. An Anonymous Article 190
5.7.10. An Editorial 190
5.7.11. A Letter to the Editor 191
5.7.12. A Serialized Article 191
5.7.13. A Special Issue 192
5.7.14. An Article in a Microform Collection of
Articles 193
5.7.15. An Article Reprinted in a Loose-Leaf
Collection of Articles 193
5.8. Citing Miscellaneous Print and Nonprint
Sources 194
5.8.1. A Television or Radio Program 194
5.8.2. A Sound Recording 196
5.8.3. A Film or Video Recording 198
5.8.4. A Performance 199
5.8.5. A Musical Composition 200
5.8.6. A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph 201
5.8.7. An Interview 202
5.8.8. A Map or Chart 203
5.8.9. A Cartoon or Comic Strip 203
5.8.10. An Advertisement 204
5.8.11. A Lecture, a Speech, an Address, or a
Reading 204
5.8.12. A Manuscript or Typescript 205
5.8.13. A Letter or Memo 205
5.8.14. A Legal Source 206
5.9. Citing Electronic Publications 207
5.9.1. The Basic Entry: A Document from an
Internet Site 207
5.9.2. An Entire Internet Site 216
5.9.3. An Online Book 218
5.9.4. An Article in an Online Periodical 221
5.9.5. A Publication on CD-ROM, Diskette, or
Magnetic Tape 224
5.9.6. A Work in More Than One Publication
Medium 228
CONTENTS

5.9.7. A Work from a Library or Personal

Subscription Service 229
5.9.8. A Work in an Indeterminate Medium 230
5.9.9. Other Electronic Sources 231

CHAPTER 6: Documentation: Citing Sources in the Text

6.1. Parenthetical Documentation and the List of
Works Cited 238
6.2. Information Required in Parenthetical
Documentation 238
6.3. Readability 239
6.4. Sample References 242
6.4.1. Citing an Entire Work, Including a Work
with No Page Numbers 242
6.4.2. Citing Part of a Work 244
6.4.3. Citing Volume and Page Numbers of a
Multivolume Work 247
6.4.4. Citing a Work Listed by Title 247
6.4.5. Citing a Work by a Corporate Author 250
6.4.6. Citing Two or More Works by the Same
Author or Authors 251
6.4.7. Citing Indirect Sources 252
6.4.8. Citing Literary and Religious Works 253
6.4.9. Citing More Than One Work in a Single
Parenthetical Reference 256
6.5. Using Notes with Parenthetical Documentation 258
6.5.1. Content Notes 258
6.5.2. Bibliographic Notes 259

CHAPTER 7: Abbreviations
7.1. Introduction 262
7.2. Time Designations 263
7.3. Geographic Names 264
7.4. Common Scholarly Abbreviations 265
7.5. Publishers' Names 272
7.6. Symbols and Abbreviations Used in Proofreading
and Correction 274
7.6.1. Selected Proofreading Symbols 274
7.6.2. Common Correction Symbols and
Abbreviations 275

XI
 CONTENTS

7.7. Titles of Literary and Religious Works 275

7.7.1. Bible 276
7.7.2. Shakespeare 278
7.7.3. Chaucer 279
7.7.4. Other Literary Works 280

Appendix A: Selected Reference Works by Field

A.I. Anthropology 284
A.2. Art and Architecture 284
A.3. Biology 285
A.4. Business 285
A. 5. Chemistry 286
A.6. Computer Science 286
A.7. Education 287
A.8. Environmental Sciences 287
A.9. Geography 288
A.10. Geology 288
A.ll. History 289
A.12. Language and Literature 289
A.13. Law 291
A. 14. Mathematics 291
A.15. Medicine 291
A.16. Music 292
A.17. Philosophy 292
A.18. Physics 293
A.19. Psychology 293
A.20. Religion 294
A.21. Science and Technology 294
A.22. Sociology 295

Appendix B: Other Systems of Documentation

B.I. Endnotes and Footnotes 298
B.I.I. Documentation Notes versus the List of
Works Cited and Parenthetical References 298
B.I.2. Note Numbers 298
B.I.3. Note Form versus Bibliographic Form 299
B.I.4. Endnotes versus Footnotes 299
B.I.5. Sample First Note References: Books and
Other Nonperiodical Publications 300
B.I.6. Sample First Note References: Articles and
Other Publications in Periodicals 303
xii
CONTENTS

B.I.7. Sample First Note References: Miscellaneous

Print and Nonprint Sources 306
B.I.8. Sample First Note References: Electronic
Publications 309
B.I.9. Subsequent References 312
B.2. Author-Date System 313
B.3. Number System 315
B.4. Specialized Style Manuals 316

Sample Pages of a Research Paper in MLA Style 319

Index 323

xm
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