(revised 10.17.05, 11.09.05)
Ten Most Common Problems
in Using MLA Documentation
1
Failure to correctly title the Works Cited
section.
2
Failure to alphabetically order the sources
in a works-cited list.
3 Failure
to use proper upper-case and lower-case
in titles of works cited.
4 Failure
to correctly use italics and quotes in periodical
titles.
5 Failure to avoid hanging indentation.
6 Failure to correctly name sources.
7 Failure to correctly place commas and periods WITHIN the closing quote.
8 Failure
to correctly place a period when parenthetical
references are used.
9
Failure to correctly place a comma after an attribution
for a direct quote.
10
Failure to use single and double quotes
correctly.
ADDITIONAL
PROBLEMS
11 Failure
to capitalize the first word in a quoted
sentence.
12 Failure
to correctly cite a WebBoard source.
13
Failure to use correct attribution (or identifying tags).
14 Failure
to correctly apply parenthetical references.
15
Failure to insert a period at the end of
each works cited entry.
16 Failure to omit unnecessary
bibliographic information in the body of the paper.
17 Failure to apply correct
spacing in a works cited entry.
1. Failure to
correctly title the Works Cited section:
Incorrect:
WORKS CITED
Incorrect:
Works cited
Incorrect:
Works Cited:
Incorrect:
Works Cited
Incorrect:
"Works Cited"
Incorrect:
Works Cited
Correct:
Works Cited
(Note: If you're
citing only one source, then Work Cited is correct.)
2. Failure to
correctly order the sources in a works-cited list. All sources must be arranged alphabetically. If a work doesn't have an author,
then the first important word in the title is used. Example of a correctly
ordered list:
Dinosaurs in Hawaii! Honolulu Community College. 6 Nov. 2000 <http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/dinos/dinos.1.html>.
Tanaka, John. "Response to RD2." Online
posting. 8 Apr. 2003. Jim's WB Conference. 2 May 2003 <
http://lehua.kcc.hawaii.edu/~jshimabukuro>.
3. Failure to
use proper upper-case and lower-case in titles of works cited:
Incorrect
case: The murder of an angel
Incorrect
case: THE MURDER
OF AN ANGEL
Incorrect
case: The Murder Of An Angel
Correct: The Murder of an Angel
[Note: See the online MLA guidelines.]
4. Failure to
correctly format periodical titles. The article title appears in quotes;
the name of the newspaper or magazine/journal appears in italics or underscore.
Stout,
David. "Court Throws Out Death
Sentence, Citing Lawyer's Flaws." New York Times on the Web 26 June 2003. 26
June 2003 <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/politics/26CND-DEATH.html>.
An alternative to
italics is underscoring:
Stout,
David. "Court Throws Out Death Sentence, Citing Lawyer's Flaws." _New York Times on the Web_ 26 June 2003. 26 June 2003
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/politics/26CND-DEATH.html>.
or
Stout,
David. "Court Throws Out Death Sentence, Citing Lawyer's Flaws." New York Times on the Web 26 June 2003. 26
June 2003 <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/26/politics/26CND-DEATH.html>.
5. Failure to
avoid hanging indentation*. In
papers submitted electronically, don't use hanging
indentation. Instead, use left justification for all lines, i.e.,
all lines begin at the left margin.
Incorrect:
Pipher,
Mary. "Saplings in the Storm." Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and
Reader. 4th edition. Eds. Gary Goshgarian, Kathleen Krueger, and Janet
Barnett Minc. New York: Longman, 2003. 343-352.
6. Failure to
correctly name sources. When quoting
sources, use first and last names or last names, but don't use first names only.
Incorrect:
John said, "Punctuation is very important in college papers."
Correct: John Smith said, "Punctuation
is very important in college papers."
Correct: Smith said, "Punctuation is
very important in college papers."
7. Failure to
correctly place commas and periods in direct quotes. Periods and commas are inserted WITHIN the closing quote.
Misplaced
period:
Smith said, "Punctuation is very important in college papers".
Revise:
Smith said,
"Punctuation is very important in college papers."
8. Failure to
correctly place a period when parenthetical references are used. When a parenthetical reference is attached to a
quote, the period FOLLOWS the closing
parenthesis.
Misplaced
period:
According to one expert, "Punctuation is very important in college papers." (Smith)
Correction:
According to one
expert, "Punctuation is very important in college papers" (Smith).
9. Failure to
correctly place a comma in an attribution*. A comma separates an attribution from a direct quote.
Incorrect: Smith said "Computers are a necessity -- not a
luxury."
Correct:
Smith said,
"Computers are a necessity -- not a luxury."
[Exception: When "that" is used, the
formatting changes:]
Incorrect: Smith said that, "Computers are a necessity -- not
a luxury."
Correct:
Smith said that "computers are a necessity -- not a luxury."
[The quote is integrated
into the sentence.]
[*Attribution (or identifying tag)
-- identifies the source of the quote, e.g., Smith says is the
attribution in the following sentence: Smith says, "Learning to punctuate
quotes is difficult."]
10. Failure to
use single and double quotes correctly.
In American English, use single quotes
for quotes within quotes.
Incorrect: According to the king,
"The hero turned to the princess and asked, "Well, are you
coming?""
Incorrect: According to the king,
'The hero turned to the princess and asked, "Well, are you coming?"'
Correct: According to the king, "The
hero turned to the princess and asked, 'Well, are you coming?'"
Use double quotes when
a passage does not include an embedded quote.
Incorrect: John Smith, the author of
'Heavenly Water,' said, 'Hawaii's water tastes best.'
Correct: John Smith, the author of
"Heavenly Water," said, "Hawaii's water tastes best."
11. Failure to capitalize the first word in a quoted sentence. When quoting a sentence or sentences, be sure to capitalize the first word:
Incorrect: According to the queen,
"the prince is a hero."
Correct: According to the queen, "The prince is a hero."
Exception: Use lower-case when the quote is preceded by "that":
Incorrect: The queen said
that, "the prince is a hero."
Correct: The queen said that
"the prince is a hero."
12. Failure to correctly cite a WebBoard source.
Format: Writer's Name. "Title of Message." [title of message taken from WB message subject line] Online posting. Date of Message. Name of Discussion Group/List. Date of access <URL of Group's Internet Site, or E-mail Address of List Moderator>.
[Note that a period is not inserted between the date and the URL.]
13. Failure to use correct attribution (or identifying tags).
Incorrect: According to Mary
Pipher, she says, "Something dramatic happens to girls in early
adolescence" (345).
Correct: According to Mary Pipher, "Something dramatic
happens to girls in early adolescence" (345).
Incorrect: Mary Pipher, a
clinical psychologist and an adjunct clinical professor at the University of
Nebraska, she says, "Something dramatic happens to girls
in early adolescence" (345).
14. Failure to correctly apply parenthetical references.
[The
closing quote should be placed before the parenthetical reference -- not
after.]
Incorrect: According to Pipher,
"Something dramatic happens to girls in early adolescence (345)."
Correct: According to Pipher, "Something dramatic
happens to girls in early adolescence" (345).
[Don't
repeat the author's name if it appears in the attribution.]
Incorrect: According to Mary
Pipher, "Something dramatic happens to girls in early adolescence"
(Pipher 345).
Correct: According to Mary Pipher, "Something dramatic
happens to girls in early adolescence" (345).
[Be
sure to include a parenthetical reference for a quote if the writer is not
named in the attribution.]
Incorrect: According to one expert,
"Something dramatic happens to girls in early adolescence."
Correct: According to one expert, "Something dramatic
happens to girls in early adolescence" (Pipher 345).
15. Failure to
insert a period at the end of each works
cited entry.
16. Failure to omit unnecessary
bibliographic information in the body of the paper. In the interest of economy,
when bibliographic information (such as the title of an article) for a quote is
in the works cited section, don't repeat it in the body. In the following
example, the title "Saplings in the Storm" is in the works cited
section and doesn't need to be repeated in the sentence containing the quote.
Incorrect: In "Saplings in the
Storm," Mary Pipher says, "Something dramatic happens to girls in
early adolescence" (Pipher 345).
Correct: Pipher says, "Something dramatic happens to
girls in early adolescence" (345).