MLA handbook for writers of research papers

Formatting your research project --

Mechanics of prose --

Principles of inclusive language --

Documenting sources : an overview --

The list of works cited --

Citing sources in the text --

Notes --

Appendix 1. Abbreviations --

Appendix 2. Works-cited-list entries by publication format.

Foreword / Rosemary G. Feal --

Preface / Kathleen Fitzpatrick. --

Part 1. Principles of MLA style: Introduction ; Why document sources? ; Plagiarism and academic dishonesty ; Think: evaluating your sources ; Select: gathering information about your sources --

Organize: creating your documentation : The list of works cited : The core elements ; Optional elements --

In-text citations.

Part 2. Details of MLA style : 1. The mechanics of scholarly prose : Names of persons : First and subsequent uses of names ; Titles of authors ; Names of authors and fictional characters ; Names in languages other than English --

Titles of sources : Capitalization and punctuation ; Italics and quotation marks ; Shortened titles ; Titles within titles ; Titles of sources in languages other than English --

Quotations : Use and accuracy of quotations ; Prose ; Poetry ; Drama ; Ellipsis ; Other alterations of quotations ; Punctuation with quotations ; Translations of quotations --

Numbers : Use of numerals or words ; Commas in numbers ; Inclusive numbers ; Roman numerals --

Dates and times --

Abbreviations : Months ; Common academic abbreviations ; Publisher's names ; Titles of works.

2. Works cited : Names of authors : Variant forms ; Titles and suffixes ; Corporate authors --

Titles : Introduction, preface, foreword, or afterword ; Translations of titles --

Versions --

Publisher --

Locational elements : Plus sign with page number ; URLs and DOIs --

Punctuation in the works-cited list : Square brackets ; Forward slash --

Formatting and ordering the works-cited list : Letter-by-letter alphabetization ; Multiple works by one author ; Multiple works by coauthors ; Alphabetizing by title ; Cross-references.

3. In-text citations : Author : Coauthors ; Corporate author --

Title : Abbreviating titles of sources ; Descriptive terms in place of titles --

Numbers in in-text citations : Style of numerals ; Numbers in works available in multiple editions ; Other citations not involving page numbers --

Indirect sources --

Repeated use of sources --

Punctuation in the in-text citation --

4. Citations in forms other than print --

Practice template --

Index.

pt. 1: Research and writing

1-1: Research paper as a form of exploration

1-2: Research paper as a form of communication

1-3: Selecting a topic

1-3-1: Freedom of choice

1-3-2: Finding an appropriate focus

1-3-3: Summing up

1-4: Conducting research

1-4-1: Modern academic library

1-4-2: Library research sources

1-4-3: Central information system

1-4-4: Reference works

1-4-5: Online catalog of library holdings

1-4-6: Full-text databases

1-4-7: Other library resources and services

1-4-8: Web sources

1-4-9: Summing up

1-5: Compiling a working bibliography

1-5-1: Keeping track of sources

1-5-2: Creating a computer file for the working bibliography

1-5-3: Recording essential publication information

1-5-4: Noting other useful information

1-5-5: Verifying publication information

1-5-6: Converting the working bibliography to the works-cited list

1-5-7: Summing up

1-6: Evaluating sources

1-6-1: Authority

1-6-2: Accuracy and verifiability

1-6-3: Currency

1-6-4: Summing up

1-7: Taking notes

1-7-1: Methods of note-taking

1-7-2: Types of note-taking

1-7-3: Recording page or reference numbers

1-7-4: Using a computer for note-taking

1-7-5: Amount and accuracy of note-taking

1-7-6: Summing up

1-8: Outlining

1-8-1: Working outline

1-8-2: Thesis statement

1-8-3: Final outline

1-8-4: Summing up

1-9: Writing drafts

1-9-1: First draft

1-9-2: Subsequent drafts

1-9-3: Writing with a word processor

1-9-4: Final draft and the research project portfolio

1-9-5: Summing up

1-10: Language and style.

pt. 2: Plagiarism and academic integrity

2-1: Definition of plagiarism

2-2: Consequences of plagiarism

2-3: Information sharing today

2-4: Unintentional plagiarism

2-5: Forms of plagiarism

2-6: When documentation is not needed

2-7: Related issues

2-7-1: Reusing a research paper

2-7-2: Collaborative work

2-7-3: Research on human subjects

2-7-4: Copyright infringement

2-8: Summing up

pt. 3: Mechanics of writing

3-1: Spelling

3-1-1: Consistency

3-1-2: Word division

3-1-3: Plurals

3-1-4: Foreign words

3-2: Punctuation

3-2-1: Purpose of punctuation

3-2-2: Commas

3-2-3: Semicolons

3-2-4: Colons

3-2-5: Dashes and parentheses

3-2-6: Hyphens

3-2-7: Apostrophes

3-2-8: Quotation marks

3-2-9: Square brackets

3-2-10: Slashes

3-2-11: Periods, question marks, and exclamation points

3-2-12: Spacing after concluding punctuation marks

3-3: Italics

3-3-1: Words and letters referred to as words and letters

3-3-2: Foreign words in an English text

3-3-3: Emphasis

3-4: Names of persons

3-4-1: First and subsequent uses of names

3-4-2: Titles of persons

3-4-3: Names of authors and fictional characters

3-5: Numbers

3-5-1: Arabic numerals

3-5-2: Use of words or numerals

3-5-3: Commas in numbers

3-5-4: Percentages and amounts of money

3-5-5: Dates and times of the day

3-5-6: Inclusive numbers

3-5-7: Roman numerals

3-6: Titles of works in the research paper

3-6-1: Capitalization and punctuation

3-6-2: Italicized titles

3-6-3: Titles in quotation marks

3-6-4: Titles and quotations within titles

3-6-5: Exceptions

3-6-6: Shortened titles

3-7: Quotations

3-7-1: Use and accuracy of quotations

3-7-2: Prose

3-7-3: Poetry

3-7-4: Drama

3-7-5: Ellipsis

3-7-6: Other alterations of sources

3-7-7: Punctuation with quotations

3-7-8: Translations of quotations

3-8: Capitalization and personal names in languages other than English

3-8-1: French

3-8-2: German

3-8-3: Italian

3-8-4: Spanish

3-8-5: Latin.

pt. 4: Format of the research paper

4-1: Margins

4-2: Text formatting

4-3: Heading and title

4-4: Page numbers

4-5: Tables and illustrations

4-6: Paper and printing

4-7: Corrections and insertions

4-8: Binding

4-9: Electronic submission

pt. 5: Documentation: preparing the list of works cited

5-1: Documenting sources

5-2: MLA style

5-3: List of works cited

5-3-1: Introduction

5-3-2: Placement of the list of works cited

5-3-3: Arrangement of entries

5-3-4: Two or more works by the same author

5-3-5: Two or more works by the same authors

5-3-6: Cross-references

5-4: Citing periodical print publications

5-4-1: Introduction

5-4-2: Article in a scholarly journal

5-4-3: Article in a scholarly journal that uses only issue numbers

5-4-4: Article in a scholarly journal with more than one series

5-4-5: Article in a newspaper

5-4-6: Article in a magazine

5-4-7: Review

5-4-8: Abstract in an abstracts journal

5-4-9: Anonymous article

5-4-10: Editorial

5-4-11: Letter to the editor

5-4-12: Serialized article

5-4-13: Special issue

5-5: Citing nonperiodical print publications

5-5-1: Introduction

5-5-2: Book by a single author

5-5-3: Anthology or a compilation

5-5-4: Book by two or more authors

5-5-5: Book by a corporate author

5-5-6: Work in an anthology

5-5-7: Article in a reference book

5-5-8: Introduction, a preface, a foreword, or an afterword

5-5-9: Anonymous book

5-5-10: Scholarly edition

5-5-11: Translation

5-5-12: Illustrated book or a graphic narrative

5-5-13: Book published in a second or subsequent edition

5-5-14: Multivolume work

5-5-15: Book in a series

5-5-16: Republished book or journal issue

5-5-17: Publisher's imprint

5-5-18: Book with multiple publishers

5-5-19: Brochure, pamphlet, or press release

5-5-20: Government publication

5-5-21: Published proceedings of a conference

5-5-22: Book in a language other than English

5-5-23: Book published before 1900

5-5-24: Book without stated publication information or pagination

5-5-25: Unpublished dissertation

5-5-26: Published dissertation

5-6: Citing Web publications

5-6-1: Introduction

5-6-2: Nonperiodical publication

5-6-3: Scholarly journal

5-6-4: Periodical publication in an online database

5-7: Citing additional common sources

5-7-1: Television or radio broadcast

5-7-2: Sound recording

5-7-3: Film or a video recording

5-7-4: Performance

5-7-5: Musical score or libretto

5-7-6: Work of visual art

5-7-7: Interview

5-7-8: Map or chart

5-7-9: Cartoon or comic strip

5-7-10: Advertisement

5-7-11: Lecture, a speech, an address, or a reading

5-7-12: Manuscript or typescript

5-7-13: Letter, a memo, or an e-mail message

5-7-14: Legal source

5-7-15: Article in a microform collection of articles

5-7-16: Article reprinted in a loose-leaf collection of articles

5-7-17: Publication on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM

5-7-18: Digital file

5-8: Work in more than one publication medium.

pt. 6: Documentation: citing sources in the text

6-1: Parenthetical documentation and the list of works cited

6-2: Information required in parenthetical documentation

6-3: Readability

6-4: Sample references

6-4-1: Citing an entire work, including a work with no page numbers

6-4-2: Citing part of a work

6-4-3: Citing volume and page numbers of a multivolume work

6-4-4: Citing a work listed by title

6-4-5: Citing a work by a corporate author

6-4-6: Citing two or more works by the same author or authors

6-4-7: Citing indirect sources

6-4-8: Citing common literature

6-4-9: Citing more than one work in a single parenthetical reference

6-5: Using notes with parenthetical documentation

6-5-1: Content notes

6-5-2: Bibliographic notes

pt. 7: Abbreviations

7-1: Introduction

7-2: Time designations

7-3: Geographic names

7-4: Common scholarly abbreviations and reference words

7-5: Publishers' names

7-6: Symbols and abbreviations used in proofreading and correction

7-6-1: Selected proofreading symbols

7-6-2: Common correction symbols and abbreviations

7-7: Titles of works

7-7-1: Bible

7-7-2: Works by Shakespeare

7-7-3: Works by Chaucer

7-7-4: Other works

Appendix A: Guides to writing

A-1: Introduction

A-2: Dictionaries of usage

A-3: Guides to nondiscriminatory language

A-4: Books on style

Appendix B: Specialized style manuals.