Parenthetical Citations

Parenthetical Citations

in disgustingly gross detail.

Reminder: We use parenthetical citations to give

credit to the people’s thoughts we use. We give credit for:

direct quotes paraphrasing summarizing

What’s a Direct Quote? A direct quote happens when you

write down EXACTLY what another person or author wrote, not just when you are conducting an interview.

Example Example: “Green chile is part of

my soul,” (McNamer, interview) said a former New Mexican resident.

What does paraphrasing mean?

Basically, paraphrasing is when you explain what your source said in your own words. You still have to give them credit!

Example Example: Rule number 76 means

you should never take advantage of excuses (East Hollywood High School Manbear Code).

Notice how this gives you the same information that is in our citizenship posters, but a few words are changed.

How is a summary different? Paraphrasing is used for smaller

concepts. When you summarize, you take a big idea and explain it in less complex terms.

Example The St. Louis Rams destroyed the

Arizona Cardinals winning streak (“St. Louis Rams hand Arizona Cardinals their first loss”).

Notice how we left out details about the football game but still gave our source CREDIT.

The general, garden variety citation (from a book):

We see Scout admit that she lies to her father when she says, “I said I could like it very much, which was a lie, but one must lie under certain circumstances” (Lee 128).

Two things to note: We see Scout admit that she lies to her father when she

says, “I said I could like it very much, which was a lie, but one must lie under certain circumstances” (Lee 128).

1. The author’s name and page number appear without a “p” or comma• we know the number

is a page• we don’t need a

comma, either

2. Punctuation appears outside the quotation• there are certain

circumstances that require punctuation inside the quotation…

“Certain circumstances:” When the quotation has pertinent

punctuation in it that change the meaning if omitted The older waiter in Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-

Lighted Place" asks himself, "What did he fear?" (79).

But notice, there is still a closing punctuation mark after the citation

Speaking of Hemingway… You might have noticed that the citation

didn’t have an author in it! The older waiter in Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-

Lighted Place" asks himself, "What did he fear?" (79). That’s because I already gave the

author credit! Do you see it?

Trickery: Citing the author this

way (in the sentence itself) accomplishes two things:

1. It cites the author (duh).2. It varies your sentence

structure automatically for you!– this = good writing

What about those pesky internet sources?

Cite the author, forget the page number no pages in cyberspace

No author? Should you really use the site? if no one takes credit for it, is it

a credible site? If you must, cite the website

Internet Example (Preferable)

If you MUST use one without an author, use the article title: There is no truth to the rumor that al-Qaeda

has poisoned the Coca-Cola supply in our country (“Coca-Cola No Al Queda”).

Internet example (no title?): There is no truth to the rumor that al-

Qaeda has poisoned the Coca-Cola supply in our country (snopes.com).

Note:• I did not give the complete

URL, only a snippet.• The complete URL goes

in your works cited page.

• Also note that the good folks at “snopes.com” DO take credit for their work

• Their names are Barbara and David Mickelson and they do a nice job fact-checking…

But again, Try to use as few

unaccredited web pages as humanly possible.

Source validity is a huge concern when the source takes no credit for their work.

Side note: When we do

literary analyses, like when we talk about Stargirl Do remember that

characters don’t talk,

authors do!

What? Interview sources? Cite the last

name of the interviewee.

Then that it was an interview.

Interview example: As junior students, we were told that

this paper is “dummy proof and it’s impossible to do wrong if you try” (Lesh interview).

Note the same rules apply:1. no comma2. punctuation outside of the

parentheses

Remember… Parenthetical citations are just the

beginning. Your complete citations should be listed on your Works Cited page or Bibliography.

Finally… If you can out-perform the student

on the next slide by creating a song that helps us memorize an aspect of MLA citations either on your own or in a group I will give you 5 points of extra credit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfambCy5YDE&feature=related

Works Cited

Blackcatcia. "MLA Citation Memorization Song." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 07 Oct. 2012.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfambCy5YDE>.

"Game Center." NFL : Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams. Nfl.com, 06 Oct. 2012. Web. 07 Oct. 2012.

<http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2012100400/2012/REG5/cardinals@rams>.

Lesh, Benjamin. "Parenthetical Citations." Parenthetical Citations. Www.slideshare.net, 07 Oct. 2007. Web. 07 Oct. 2012.

http://www.slideshare.net/leshb/parenthetical-citations-127716>.

McNamer, Anna M. "Interview." Personal interview. 07 Oct. 2012.