Quick
Guide to MLA style.
1.
You must cite your source whenever you quote someone else’s words, using double
quotation
marks
around their words. Acknowledge ALL sources in the text of your essay by citing
author’s
surname
and page nos, in brackets at the end of the sentence. Do not use footnotes or
endnotes to
do
this.
At
the end of a quotation or sentence in which you quote someone else’s words or
ideas give the
author’s
last name and the page number (O’Regan 59). The reader then checks O’Regan in
your
Works
Cited at the end of your essay for the full reference.
2.
You must also cite your source whenever you summarise or paraphrase anyone
else’s ideas. When
you
are summarising an argument always make your source clear in the sentence,
e.g., O’Regan
argues
that Australian national cinema has three distinctive features.
If
you use the author’s name in the sentence give only the page no. in brackets,
e.g., On the
question
of the box office failure of The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, O’Regan argues
that
subsequent
critical debate influenced Schepisi’s overall standing as an Australian
filmmaker (59).
If
you cite more than one work by the same author use a short version of the title
(O’Regan, National
59).
If
you cite someone quoted by another source, acknowledge this in brackets, e.g.,
Alison Butler
argues
that ‘border crossings’ involve “misreading … which governs the reception of
films outside …
their
national contexts” (qtd. in O’Regan 59).
List
full publication details of all sources alphabetically at the end of the essay
as Works Cited (not
as
Bibliography).
Cite
ALL publications or sources in alphabetical order, regardless of whether your
source is a book,
a
journal article, a film or a newspaper review.
Cite
written sources by starting with the author’s surname.
Cite
films, videos or other recordings by Title, in alphabetical order.
Use
MLA punctuation accurately, as in the examples listed below.
A
book by a single author: use only the first city listed as place of
publication.
O’Regan,
Tom. Australian National Cinema. London: Routledge, 1996.
An
article in a book of essays by different authors. Include the page numbers for
the entire article,
not
just the pages you quoted from in your essay.
Routt,
William D. “The Fairest Child in the Motherland: Colonialism and Family in
Films of the
1920s
and 1930s.” The Australian Screen. Ed. Albert Moran and Tom O’Regan. Ringwood,
Vic.:
Penguin,
1989. 28-52.
An
article in a journal.
Thomas,
Allan James. “Camping Outback: Landscape, Masculinity, and Performance in The
Adventures
of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.” Continuum 10.2
(1996): 97-110.
An
article in a newspaper.
Adams,
Philip. “How Bazza Turned the Tide of Cultural Cringe.” Australian 12-13 Sept.
1992: 3,
6.
A
review in a newspaper.
Ellis,
Bob. “A Locker Room Apocalypse Now.” Rev. of Streamers, dir. Robert Altman.
National
Times
7-13 Dec. 1984: 32.
An
interview in a magazine.
Mendelsohn,
Ben. Interview. “Home-Town Boy.” By Tim Hunter. Cinema Papers 119 (1997):
18-20.
A
film or video recording. Include original year of release and year of release
of your source (VHS or
DVD
or CD).
Night
Cries: A Rural Tragedy. Dir. Tracey Moffatt. Perf. Marcia Langton and Agnes
Hardwick.
Ronin,
1990. Videocassette. Ronin, 1991.
On-line
journal article. Include date of your online access after original publication
date.
Miles,
Adrian. “Singing in the Rain: A Hypertextual Reading”. Postmodern Culture 8.2
(1998). 30
October
2002.
<http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/pcm/issue.198/8.2miles.html>.
On-line
review. Include date or your online access after original publication date.
Ebert,
Roger. Rev. of The Truman Show, dir. Peter Weir. Chicago Sun-Times Online 5
June
1998.
16 June 1998 http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert/05show.htm.