Screenshot of the PDF

It’s research time again, and I didn’t want to head off to the library without taking a second look at my MLA source format sheet. Here’s a PDF of it.

Like all the secondary English departments I know of, we use the Modern Language Association’s style sheet. (Thank God, I say, because I love it so much more than the APA’s!) I do spend a little time referring to other style sheets, though, so that my students realize that this is just one of many methods of formatting source information and papers.

I first made my own format sheet for teaching source-formatting years ago. I know it was before I had access to my server because it was originally stored on a floppy disk at first. That would put it at least nine years ago.

Over the years, I’ve tweaked it again and again, to update with the MLA’s updates and also to make it easier to understand at a glance. I think my students understand the concepts better now, but I’m not sure whether it’s due to the materials or the way I’m approaching it after all these years. :P

I’ve focused on the main sources my students use, with a separate online database section for that reason. Our school media center subscribes to four major databases, and I really want to encourage students to utilize them, in large part because they require little evaluation other than whether they’d provide support.

What do you think?

Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions on my sheet, or on teaching this to students.