CITING SOURCES MLA STYLE
Nov 01, 2014
CITING SOURCES
MLA STYLE
Why Cite Sources?
To avoid plagiarism To credit the source with the original idea
or information To lend credibility and authority to a thesis To back up ideas with credible illustrations,
known facts, and accepted statistics
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a crime – it is the the theft of someone’s else’s words, ideas, or research.
If you commit plagiarism, you can fail a course, be expelled from college, lose your job.
The easiest route to plagiarism today is cutting and pasting from the internet.
Avoid Plagiarism
Introduce any material you have borrowed from another source with a signal phrase that mentions the author (or if there is no author, the title ) of the source.
Put in quotation marks, any phrase or sentence(s) you have borrowed from the source.
If the quotation is longer than 3 lines, indent the quoted words.
ANY PHRASES OR SENTENCES QUOTED EXACTLY AND NOT IN QUOTATION MARKS OR INDENTED ARE PLAGIARIZED.
THERE IS
-0-TOLERANCE
FOR PLAGIARISM IN THIS COURSE
You will Fail
Help is Here
If you are confused about what plagiarism is or how to cite sources, please make an appointment with me to clarify any issues you might have.
If this is a last minute issue, email me, and I will try to respond promptly.
Internal Documentation
Citing Sources in the Text of an Essay
What Needs To Be Cited?
Quotations Paraphrased ideas Summarized information Facts Statistics Studies When in doubt, acknowledge the source of the
information
Ways To Cite Sources Include:
QuotationParaphraseSummary
Parenthetical Citation
The parenthetical citation must match the first word of the Works Cited citation -- usually the author’s last name -- and must include the page number of the quote, if taken from a paginated text: (Bragg 123).
Bragg, Rick. “Country Club Meets the Enemy: Country Music and Pigs.” 1999. Rpt. Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2000. 123-25.
Quotation
In a quotation, the exact words of the source are quoted in quotation marks. Use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes
Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase: Rick Bragg quotes pig farmer, Paul Thompson:
In his article about the new Florida meeting the old Florida, Rick Bragg quotes pig farmer, Paul Thompson, “‘Now who,’” Mr. Thompson said, ‘would choose to build a golf course next to a pig farm? Didn’t they read the sign? It says pig farm, not rose garden’” (Bragg 123).
Quotation
Long quotes, quotes over 3 lines, should be indented and do not include quotation marks:
According to Rick Bragg: Lawyers for the club have said that Mr. Thompson and the neighbor who also raises music-accented pork, Tom Rossano, want the club to buy their properties at an inflated price, to gain peace and quiet. (Bragg 124)
Paraphrase In a paraphrase the writer restates what the
author has said in his/her own words. A paraphrase is also introduced with a signal phrase, and the source of the information must be cited:
Bragg tells us that the country club has sued Mr. Thompson, not because of the smell, but because of the distraction caused by the country music (Bragg 123).
Summary
In a summary, the writer states in an abbreviated form the idea that the original author has expressed. A summary is also introduced with a signal phrase, and source information must be cited:
Rick Bragg describes a scene in Pt. St. Lucie where an old established pig farm wafts its manure-laden fragrance mixed with country music over to its next-door-neighbor, the manicured Florida Club golf course (Bragg 123).
Remember...
All information borrowed from another source must be acknowledged with a parenthetical citation
Introduce borrowed information with a signal phrase: According to Alice Ames, ... John Smith says…. Samuel Jones tells us… In a study by Dr. Elizabeth Owens, ...
Remember...
The parenthetical citation must match the first word of the Works Cited citation, usually the author’s last name, and include a page reference.
Quotes repeat the author’s exact words. Paraphrases restate the author’s words in the
writer’s own words. Summaries abbreviate the author’s words.
Bibliographies and
Works Cited Lists
What’s the Difference?
A Bibliography lists all the sources consulted in research for a specific essay.A Preliminary Bibliography or Working
Bibliography lists all the sources the writer thinks s/he will be using in the essay
A Works Cited lists all the works actually cited in the text of the essay.
Both a Bibliography and Works Cited list are formatted in the same way.
Overall Format The title -- Bibliography or Works Cited -- is centered
at the top of the page. It is not underlined, italicized or quoted. It should be the same font size as the rest of the citations.
The citation list is double-spaced throughout. The citation list is alphabetized. If there is no author, the citation begins with the title
of the work – quoted if an article or poem, underlined or italicized if a book.
The first line of each citation is at the margin; subsequent lines should be indented about ten spaces.
Sample Citations:
MLA FORMAT
A Book
Bragg, Rick. Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2000.
author title of book
subtitle of book city of publication
publisher year of publication
Chapter in a Book
Bragg, Rick. “Country Club Meets the Enemy:
Country Music and Pigs.” 1999. Rpt. Somebody
Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg.
Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2000. 123-25.
author title of chapter
original publication date reprint
city publisher year of publication
inclusive chapter pages
title of book subtitle of book
Article in a Multi-Volume Reference Work
Larkin, Joan. "Frontiers of Language: Three Poets."
1974. Exc. in "Audre Lord.” Contemporary
Literary Criticism. Vol. 18. Ed. Sharon R.
Gunton. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. 307-08.
author title of work
original date volume editor
city publisher year of publication
inclusive pages of work
excerpted title of article title of reference work
Article in a Journal
Maxwell, Bill. “Angry Young Man.” Forum:
The Magazine of the Florida Humanities Council.
XXII.2 (Summer 1999): 8-17.
author title of article name of journal
volume number date inclusive pages of article
Article in a Journal found in an Online Database
author title of article
name of journalEder, Richard, "The Greatest Woman Poet Since
Sappho." Los Angeles Times Book Review
18 Mar. 1990. 3+. Galenet: Literature
Resource Center. LINCC. 10 Jan. 2004.
date pages publisher database
provider date accessed
Article found on an Internet Site
author title of webpage date posted
name of websiteLu Yanguang. "Madame Li." 1997.
Asia Pac: 100 Celebrated Chinese Women.
Trans. Kate Foster. 10 Feb. 2000 < http://www.span.com.au/100women/18.html > .
translator date accessed
URL: web address
Work in an Anthology
Whitman, Walt. “Osceola.” 1892. Florida in Poetry:.
A History of the Imagination. Eds. Jane Anderson
author title of work title of book
original publication date
publisher year of publication
inclusive pages of work
subtitle of book editors
Jones and Maurice O’Sullivan. Sarasota:
Pineapple Press, 1995. 30-31.
city
Poems from Online Sources
McKay, Claude. “Spring in New Hampshire.”
Columbia Granger's World of Poetry Online.
2008. Columbia University Press. 22 May
2008. <http://www.columbiagrangers.org>.
Rich, Adrienne. “Diving Into the Wreck.” 1973.
Poet’s.Org. 2008. American Academy of Poets.
22 May 2008. < http://www.poets.org/ viewmedia.php/prmMID/15228 >.
Bios from Online Sources
“Adrienne Rich.” Poet’s Org. 2008.
Academy of American Poets. 22 May 2008.
<http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/49>
“Claude McKay (1889–1948)”. Columbia Granger's World
of Poetry Online. 2008. Columbia University Press.
22 May. 2008. <http://www.columbiagrangers.org>
Bibliography
Bragg, Rick. “Country Club Meets the Enemy: Country Music and
Pigs.” 1999. Rpt. Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories
of Rick Bragg. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2000. 123-25.
______. Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg.
Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2000.
Eder, Richard, "The Greatest Woman Poet Since Sappho." Los Angeles
Times Book Review 18 Mar. 1990. 3+. Galenet: Literature
Resource Center. LINCC. 10 Jan. 2004.
Larkin, Joan. "Frontiers of Language: Three Poets." 1974. Exc. in
"Audre Lord.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 18.
Ed. Sharon R. Gunton. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. 307-08.
Lu Yanguang. "Madame Li." 1997. Asia Pac: 100 Celebrated
Chinese Women. Trans. Kate Foster. 10 Feb. 2000 < http://www.span.com.au/100women/18.html > .
Maxwell, Bill. “Angry Young Man.” Forum: The Magazine of the
Florida Humanities Council. XXII.2 (Summer 1999): 8-17.
Whitman, Walt. “Osceola.” 1892. Florida in Poetry: A History of the
Imagination. Eds. Jane Anderson Jones and Maurice O’Sullivan.
Sarasota: Pineapple Press, 1995. 30-31.
REMEMBER… The title -- Bibliography or Works Cited -- is centered
at the top of the page. It is not underlined, italicized or quoted. It should be the same font size as the rest of the citations.
The citation list is double-spaced throughout. The citation list is alphabetized. If there is no author, the citation begins with the title of
the work – quoted if an article or poem, underlined or italicized if a book.
The first line of each citation is at the margin; subsequent lines should be indented about ten spaces.
For Further Information
Jane Jones’ Tools for Writing and Research:http://www.mccfl.edu/Faculty/Jonesj/Tools/tools.html
Manatee Community College's Writing and Citing Help: http://www.mccfl.edu/pages/767.asp
MLA Online: http://www.mla.org/ Using MLA Style from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL):
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html Color-coded MLA Citations from Long Island University:
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm Slate Citation Machine will help format sources automatically:
http://www.landmark-project.com/citation_machine/cm.php