MLA Documentation #1

If you have any questions or comments
on this quiz, please email Dr. Tom Fish.
No. of Questions= 10
1.  Compose a bibliographic entry for an essay by Aaron Smith entitled "On the River: Twain's Structuralist Journey Through America" in the fall 1973 issue (#3) of volume 37 of the journal American Literature. The essay was the first of the issue, appearing on pages 213 through 234.
Web Reference      
a) Smith, Aaron. "On the River: Twain's Structuralist Journey Through America." American Literature 37 (1973): 213-34.
b) Aaron Smith, "On the River: Twain's Structuralist Journey Through America." American Literature 37.3 (1973): 213-34.
c) Smith, Aaron. "On the River: Twain's Structuralist Journey Through America." American Literature. 37 (Fall 1973): 213-34.
d) Smith, Aaron. American Literature. "On the River: Twain's Structuralist Journey Through America." 37 (1973): 213-34.
2.  Which of the following is NOT a principle of proper MLA note format.
a) A parenthetical note can contain only page numbers if other information is provided in text.
b) A parenthetical note comes after the end punctuation of a block quotation.
c) Paraphrased or summarized information from a source does not require documentation.
d) Several quotations included in a paragraph may be cited with a single note at the end of the paragraph if no other sources are used in the paragraph.
3.  In a Works Cited list, which of the following is NOT a principle of form to follow.
a) The Works Cited list begins on a separate page at the end of the essay.
b) Entries are listed in alphabetical order, depending upon the first word of the entry.
c) When two entries have the same author, the second begins with three hyphens (---) instead of the author's name.
d) Entries are listed in the order referred to in the text and numbered using arabic numerals.
4.  Which of the following shows the proper bibliographic format for an essay found in an anthology that was initially published in a journal?
Web Reference      
a) Griffin, Irwin. "Preserving Invisibility: Ellison's Strategies of Denial." Race and Racism in American Literature. Ed. Edwin Ames. New York: Faber and Faber, 1998. 135- 59.
b) Griffin, Irwin. "Preserving Invisibility: Ellison's Strategies of Denial." Jackson Quarterly(1983). Race and Racism in American Literature. Ed. Edwin Ames. New York: Faber and Faber, 1998. 135-59.
c) Griffin, Irwin. "Preserving Invisibility: Ellison's Strategies of Denial." Jackson Quarterly 12 (1983): 14-36. Rpt. in Race and Racism in American Literature. Ed. Edwin Ames. New York: Faber and Faber, 1998. 135-59.
d) Griffin, Irwin. "Preserving Invisibility: Ellison's Strategies of Denial." Rpt. in Race and Racism in American Literature. Ed. Edwin Ames. New York: Faber and Faber, 1998. 135- 59.
5.  Which of the following is the proper MLA bibliographic format for an original essay by Gene Halberstram entitled "A is for Alien?" included as the introduction to a recent paperback republication of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter?
Web Reference      
a) Halberstram, Gene. "A is for Alien?" Introduction to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. 1850. New York: Bantam, 1998.
b) Halberstram, Gene. "A is for Alien?" The Scarlet Letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Bantam, 1998. x-xxi.
c) Halberstram, Gene. "A is for Alien?" The Scarlet Letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. 1850. New York: Bantam, 1998. x-xxi.
d) Halberstram, Gene. Introduction. The Scarlet Letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. 1850. New York: Bantam, 1998. x-xxi.
6.  Identify the proper format for a poem by Gina Green ("Driving Home") appearing in a new volume of her work entitled Growing Up Absurd.
Web Reference      
a) Gina Green, "Driving Home." Growing Up Absurd. Newport, NJ: Griffin P, 1999. 14.
b) Green, Gina. "Driving Home." Growing Up Absurd. Newport, NJ: Griffin P, 1999. 14.
c) Green,Gina. "Driving Home." Growing Up Absurd. Griffin P, 1999. 14.
d) Green, Gina. "Driving Home." Growing Up Absurd. Newport, NJ: Griffin P, 1999.
7.  Which is the proper entry for Harold Bloom's introduction to an essay in an anthology he edited entitled Shakespeare's History Plays? The introduction has the heading Foreword and is found on pages 3- 12.
Web Reference      
a) Bloom, Harold. Foreword. Shakespeare's History Plays. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea, 1998. 3-12.
b) Bloom, Harold. "Foreword." Shakespeare's History Plays. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea, 1998. 3-12.
c) Bloom, Harold. Foreword. Shakespeare's History Plays. New York: Chelsea, 1998. 3-12.
d) Bloom, Harold. "Foreword" to Shakespeare's History Plays. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea, 1998. 3-12.
8.  Which of the following is NOT a principle of MLA form for a Works Cited list?
a) A Works Cited list is printed in hanging paragraph style so that the first line of each entry begins on the left margin but other lines are intended a half inch from the margin.
b) A Works Cited List is doubled-spaced throughout.
c) The entries of a Works Cited list end with the pages numbers of quotations included in the text of the essay listed in a parenthetical note.
d) Journal articles are listed in alphabetical order first, followed by book entries in alphabetical order.
9.  Which of the following is not a proper principle of MLA form for a Works Cited list?
a) In journal entries, only the volume number is needed if the pages in the entry volume are numbered consecutively.
b) If no place of publication is available for a book entry, the abbreviation for "n.p." is used for "no place."
c) If a source is used for which no author is given, the notation "Anonymous" is used in place of a name.
d) The names of publishers are routinely shortened to a keyword with "Company," "Inc." and "Co" omitted, as well as University abbreviated to U and Press abbreviated to P.
10.  If one entry in a Works Cited entry is for a book by John Brown entitled The Southern Agarians and a second is for another book by the same individual entitled New England Awakening, which of the following is the proper parenthetical note form for a quotation from page 42 of The Southern Agarians?
a) (Brown, Southern 42)
b) (The Southern Agarians 42)
c) (Brown, Southern: 42
d) (Brown, 42)


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© 1999 Thomas E. Fish
Cumberland College
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