Here are all the ways I teach MLA Citation!
1. Want a more FUN way to teach MLA formatting? Try this!
Do your students struggle with MLA formatting? Gamify it! Teach students how to format papers properly, then take the lesson to the next level and help them remember the elements of MLA formatting by doing the activity as a game! I use this activity over and over again throughout the school year. It works well when students are starting to type or as a final step in the editing process. In fact, I pull this up every time we write a paper, and kids are excited to show off what they remember! BONUS: How to set up your document handout (for Word docs)
Great for students from 7th – 12th grade. Not too hard for middle school kids, yet still fun and engaging for older students. My 11th graders and AP students enjoyed this activity every time we did it! Whether you do this as a lesson or a game, it takes 10-15 minutes.
This ELEVEN-PAGE (editable) Word document contains…
- Suggestions for using the document to teach MLA formatting as a teacher-led lesson with students following along.
- Sample “How Should it Look” page.
- How-to handout with directions for setting up MLA formatting in a Word document
- Suggestions for ways to gamify the lesson.
- Eight pages with the paper in various stages of correctness; walk your students through HOW to fix formatting issues until the paper is perfect!
2. Need a printable MLA citation packet/handout covering in-texts and Works Cited?
Use this packet to teach MLA citations or give it to students as a printable to use independently as a resource. Help students demonstrate that they have found reliable & relevant sources, give credit to other people’s work, and help their readers find their sources! Great for the Common Core Writing Standard #8.
This item works best when used in conjunction with a unit/writing assignment that requires in-text citation and a Works Cited page. Best suited for honors, AP, upper-grade high school students, or advanced homeschoolers.
This EIGHT-PAGE, editable Word document includes…
- Advice for using/teaching the material.
- The MLA rules for in-text citations, short quotes, long quotes, quoting dialogue, adding or changing words, & removing words.
- Information about what MLA wants writers to provide in their Works Cited pages, how to make a Works Cited entry, a sample Works Cited page, and formatting steps/directions
3. Want to teach students how to make an MLA Works Cited page? Here’s a PowerPoint!
Use visuals to show students how to format Works Cited entries in MLA! Help students demonstrate that they have found reliable & relevant sources, give credit to other people’s work, and help their readers find their sources! Great for the Common Core Writing Standard #8.
This item works best when used in conjunction with a unit/writing assignment that requires a Works Cited page. Pick and choose which slides you need to use depending on the source types your students are working with! I use these slides again and again!
What’s inside?
- Nineteen editable PowerPoint slides
- Walk your students through formatting a Works Cited page with images/screenshots/directions tailored to Word/OneDrive.
- Demonstrate how to cite web sources with and without authors, books, and sources in containers/from databases.
4. Want to teach MLA In-text citations? Here’s a PowerPoint!
Need lessons to teach students how to format in-text citations in MLA? These slides (There are 78!) help you SHOW them what to do & answer almost ANY in-text citation question kids might have! Help students demonstrate that they have found reliable & relevant sources, give credit to other people’s work, and help their readers find their sources! Great for the Common Core Writing Standard #8!
This item works best when used in conjunction with a unit/writing assignment that requires in-text citation. Pick and choose which slides you need to use depending on the source types your students are working with! I use these slides again and again!
What’s inside?
- SEVENTY-EIGHT editable PowerPoint slides
- Walk your students through what to include in their in-text citations & how they should look, with plenty of examples and demo slides
- Demonstrate how to cite in-text from ALL types of sources, including web sources, books, short stories, poems, plays, and the Bible!
- Cover common errors and questions, too!
5. Want to teach students how to cite web resources in MLA? Here’s a mini-packet!
Teach the elements of citing web sources in MLA, practice finding them, and give an oral quiz! Reinforce why we cite, like demonstrating that we’ve found reliable & relevant sources, giving credit to other people’s work, and helping our readers find our sources.
This mini-lesson + activity takes my 11th graders about 10 minutes on day one. I remind them why we cite, introduce the elements of a web citation, & find a few elements in practice 1. On day two, we take 10 minutes to do a quick quiz using sample 2.
This item is most applicable to 9-12 students learning MLA citation skills.
6. Want to teach APA to students who already know MLA? Use this method!
Do you need to teach APA formatting and citation to students who already know MLA? This document will help them translate MLA to APA by comparing and contrasting the two styles and providing students with examples and step-by-step conversion lists for formatting, in-text citations, and references.
These handouts/directions work best for honors, AP, upper-level high school, or advanced homeschool students. It typically takes me 2 days to teach this lesson, as we take a finished paper we’ve done in MLA & translate it into APA.
Alternatively, you could use this EIGHT-PAGE, editable Word document to help students create a new paper in APA. This packet (print or upload to your LMS) is super helpful because it uses what they know about MLA as scaffolding for them to build upon as they create an APA paper.
7. MLA citation & plagiarism WebQuest
GREAT for SUB DAYS!! Other ways to use this: Introduce MLA citation rules and plagiarism concepts through this webquest activity! Reinforce what you’ve already taught. Use this webquest as an “open-book” style quiz or group activity.
Older students with familiarity with MLA can finish this activity in 45 minutes.
Younger students or students less familiar with MLA could also finish in 45 minutes if you made it a group activity.
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