MLA CITATIONS

BE SURE TO USE ACADEMIC

AND VALID SOURCES
 Use your MLA Handbook for specific cases of citation.
 OWL Purdue website is also a good site
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/
mla_general_format.html
 BASIC BOOK ENTRY
Author. Ann Petry
Title of Work. The Street
Title of Container,
Other Contributers,
Version,
Number,
Publisher, Virago
Publication Date, 1942
Location (Pages).

Petry, Ann. The Street. Virago, 1942.

 BASIC BOOK ENTRY, WITH
EDITOR
Author. Marianne Delamotte
Title of Work. The Marketplace
Title of Container,
Other Contributers, Shawna Hutchinson
Version,
Number,
Publisher, Palgrave MacMillan
Publication Date, 2013
Location (Pages).

Delamotte, Marianne. The Marketplace. Edited by Shawna

Hutchinson, Palgrave MacMillan, 2013.
 A WORK IN AN
ANTHOLOGY/COLLECTION
Author. Emily Dickinson
Title of Work. I Heard a Fly Buzz
Title of Container, Norton Anthology of American Literature,
Other Contributers, Robert S. Levine, editor
Version Shorter ninth edition
Number, Volume 1
Publisher, W.W. Norton and Company
Publication Date, 2017
Location (Pages). 1263-1264

Dickinson, Emily. “I Heard a Fly Buzz.” Norton Anthology of

American Literature, edited by Robert S. Levine, shorter ninth edition,
vol. 1, W.W. Norton and Company, 2017, pp. 1263-1264 .
 A WORK WITH EDITOR AS AUTHOR IN
ANTHOLOGY/COLLECTION
Author. Stephen Greenblatt
Title of Source. Elizabeth I
Title of Container, The Norton Anthology of English Literature
Other Contributers, Stephen Greenblatt, editor
Version, 9th edition
Number, Volume 1
Publisher, W.W. Norton and Company
Publication Date, 2013
Location (Pages). 392-393

Greenblatt, Stephen, editor, "Elizabeth I." The Norton

Anthology of English Literature, 9th edition, vol. 1,
W.W. Norton and Company, 2013, pp. 392-393.
 A SOURCE PROVIDED ON
CANVAS WITHOUT
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL Usually I post
material with its
bibliographical
INFORMATION
Author.
Title of Work.
Nathanial Hawthorne
“Young Goodman Brown”
information;
therefore, just
Title of Container, Canvas follow the regular
citing of the source
Other Contributers,
as noted in the
Version, above slides. – If
Number, you are not sure,
cite the sources
Publisher, HiØ, Canvas, American Literature course, Prof. Wagner,
like this.
Publication Date, 2024
Location (Pages).

Hawthorne, Nathanial. “Young Goodman Brown.” HiØ, Canvas,

American Literature course, Prof. Wagner, 2024.
 ANOMOLIES OF CITING I
 If there is more than 1 author, the first author is cited last name, first. The second author is cited first name, last.
 Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein

 In-text citations usually simply show the last name and page number, like so (Wagner 21). If you mention the
author in your paragraph, and then quote from the author's text, you only need to cite the page number.
 Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein suggest that "writing well means entering into conversation with others" (xiii).

 If the editor/translator is also the author and you are referencing their work, place their title after their name as
author.
 Greenblatt, Stephen, editor.

 Citing a Powerpoint
 The Professor (Author)
 Title of the Powerpoint (Title of work)
 Name of the Course (Container)
 Year of course
 Slide number(s)
 ANOMOLIES OF CITING II
 If there are up to 3 authors, the first author is cited last name, first, and the rest are cited first name, last.
 Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Anick Flanders.

 If there are more than 3 authors, the first author is cited last name, first, followed by et al (and the rest).
 Graff, Gerald, et al.
 THESIS STATEMENTS
 What makes a good thesis statement?
 S: A Single Subject
 More than one subject should only be used in Comparison essays
 A: An Assertion
 A Claim about the subject
 P: A Preview
 A specific Preview of your Points of Argumentation (POA)
 CREATING A STRONG THESIS STATEMENT
 A literary analysis requires a strong thesis that does NOT –
 make a vague announcement of the writer’s intention.
 make a broad observation or state an obvious fact.
 state your opinions of feelings about a topic.
 give the reader a summary of a movement, historical period, or author’s life.

 Examples of a weak thesis:

 This paper will analyze Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.”
 Henry David Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay a poll tax.
 I believe that Mark Twain’s religious views affected his writing.
 The Victorian period influenced many writers and artists.
 A STRONG THESIS SHOULD –

 help you to limit your paper to a tightly controlled idea about the text.
 make a clear stand – your stand – about the text
 be a reading of the text that is debatable.
 provide a “so what” for the reader.
 make strong connections between the text itself and a ‘larger idea.’

 Examples of a STRONG thesis:

 In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” (Fr479), the speaker represents youth, adulthood,
and old age through the symbols of the schoolyard, the fields of mature grain, and the “Setting Sun.”
 In Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Civil Disobedience,” the author uses the jail cell to symbolize true freedom,
and independent civic obligation.
 Mark Twain uses the character of Father Adolf in No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger to reveal hypocrisy in religion
through the priest’s actions, words, and beliefs.
 In William Blake’s poem, “London,” the author exposes the devastating effects of industrialization on the city’s
workers, children, and families.
THESIS
 NOTE: As you conclude your paper –work from end to
beginning, making sure that all ideas tie back to your thesis
statement. If your idea has shifted somewhat during the course
of your paper – revise your thesis accordingly.
END