HOW TO DOCUMENT AND CITE WHAT MATTERS IN AMERICA ARTICLES

Modern Language Association (MLA) 8th Edition Format

When we write an essay in reaction to something we have read, we are required to provide our readers with the citation (or publication facts) of what we’ve read. We place this citation at the end of our essay on a Works Cited page.

Please be sure that the final copy of your essay contains a properly organized citation for the What Matters in America article you are writing about.

Below is the general MLA format for What Matters in America citations, including examples using articles from the text book. It also provides information about how to cite words and ideas from the What Matters in America articles when you use that information in your essay. 

General MLA End-of-Essay (Works Cited Page) format for our anthology:

Author’s Last Name, Author’s First Name. “Name of Article.”  What Matters in America. Ed. Gary Goshgarian, 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. (page numbers of article).

Heilbroner Student Example #1

Specific MLA End-of-Essay (Works Cited Page) Examples

Beals, Kate. “Faceless on Facebook.” What Matters in America. Ed. Gary Goshgarian, 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. (pp. 48-49).

Holahan, Catherine. “The Dark Side of Web Anonymity.” What Matters in America. Ed. Gary Goshgarian, 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. (pp. 219-221).

In-text MLA Citations: Place in parentheses the page number from which the wording or information comes.  Do NOT use "p" or "pg" or "pp" before the in-text citation page number--only the page number.

· To identify an author, place the author's LAST NAME in the parentheses before the page number with only a space (no comma or any punctuation) between the author's last name and the page number. If it is clear who the author is—you used a signal phrase with the author’s name—place only the page number in parentheses.

· When you begin a new paragraph, re-identify the What Matters in America author (last name only) when you first cite information in the new paragraph.

Heilbroner Student Example #1

Specific MLA in-text Citations Examples

(Beals 48) or Beals claims that ". . . . . " (48).

(Holahan 220) or According to Holahan ". . . . . " (220).

     Example with signal phrase or author tag

According to Holohan, "There are few legal means to compel Web sites to police message boards"(220). (<Since the signal phrase makes it clear who the author is, I need not again place the author’s name in the parentheses—I need provide only the page number(s).

Example without signal phrase or author tag

It is unfortunate that "there are few legal means to compel Web sites to police message boards"   (Holohan 220).

Please note: MLA 8th Edition introduces changes, particularly in the Works Cited Page entries format.  URL's are now required unless they are so long as to be unsightly; and the abbreviations "p." and "pp." are now used to designate page numbers on theWorks Cited Page.  (Please note: the abbreviations "p." and "pp." are used ONLY on the Works Cited Page. The abbreviations "p." and "pp." are NOT used in the MLA in-text citations.

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