MLA Style Citation and Bibliography Grade 3 Lesson

Study Notes

What is MLA?

MLA stands for Modern Language Association.
It provides consistent standards for writing citations and papers.
MLA is one of the 2-3 styles usually used in high school and college.
It protects you from plagiarism.

Importance of MLA Citations

Give credit when you use information written or thought up by others.
Avoid plagiarism by writing a citation and crediting your source of information.
Readers can easily check where you got your information.

When to Cite Sources

Always cite sources when you summarize, paraphrase, or quote another author's material.
If you are not sure, it is better to always cite the source.

Works Cited Page

The Works Cited Page appears at the end of your paper on its own page.
It lists all sources you used to write your report.
The Works Cited page provides the information needed for a reader to find and retrieve any source used in your paper.

Citing a Book

For a book with one author: Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.
For a book with two authors: Author's Last Name, First Name, and Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.
For a book with an editor but no single author: Editor's Last Name, First Name, ed. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.

Citing an Internet Source

For a website with an author: Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Work." Title of Website. Publisher or Sponsor of site, Day Month Year of Publication or Revision. Web. Day Month Year You Accessed the Site.
For a company, business, or professional site: Company Name. Day Month Year of Publication or Revision. Web. Day Month Year You Accessed the Site.

Formatting Your Paper

Use 8.5 x 11 paper.
Use 12-point Times Roman font or something similar.
Double-space your paper.
Leave one space after periods and other punctuation.
Set margins to one inch.
Indent properly.

Description

Learn about MLA style citation, why it is important, how to cite sources, and create a bibliography using books and the internet. Practice writing citations together to give credit to original sources when using information in your paper.