Sonny Software

I'm trying to use the "Scan document" option to generate a final version of a paper using the MLA format, but I have three problems.

1. The "revised.rtf" version of the paper does not format following the MLA style. Instead of citation in parenthesis --for example, (Johns)--, I just get a number --(1).

2. The bibliography generated has numbers, which is not the MLA format--unless my copy of the MLA style is so old that even the basic philosophy has changed.

3. The third problem is that after generating the bibliography, Bookends crashes.

I'd appreciate any help, because I need to submit this paper soon.

Out-of-the-box MLA formatting is... lackluster. Ideally, you have the freedom to use strict MLA which, I believe, allows for endnotes instead of parenthetical references (see <http://www.aresearchguide.com/7footnot.html>), which Bookends can do easily. You will, however, still need to modify Bookends to use correct endnotes. This is, luckily, very easy (just a checkbox, I believe).

If not, it's a more complex scenario, where you'll have to create a new format ("MLA-new") which displays only the author (and you'll put the page references between \backslashes\). For multiple references from a single author, you'll also need to put the title of the work in backslashes as well, and keep track of it yourself.

At least that's how it's working for me at present.

Thanks for the tip. I went to the MLA definition in Bookends and updated it. It works fine now. Unfortunately, Bookends keeps crashing when I try to create a bibliography. Any ideas?

Hi,

Whenever Bookends crashes during a scan, it almost certainly means that the database or the format is damaged. Use File -> Database Maintenance to fix the database (repair or rebuild -- see the User Guide for the difference between them). If it's the format (rare) it usually must be recreated.

Jon
Sonny Software