MLA Documentation

Today You Will . . .

• Understand the relationship between both parts of citations: in-text and works cited
• Identify correct use of in-text citations
• Learn how to build works cited citations
• Generate citations with groups
• Practice using resources to format citations

Citations

There are 2 parts to citations in MLA formatted essays:

1) In-text (parenthetical) citations

2) Works cited citations

We use both of these to show that we are documenting source material. Failing to give credit to sources results in plagiarism.

No WC page? = plagiarism

No in-text citations? = plagiarism

When You DO Need Citation

• All word-for-word quotations from a source
• All summaries and paraphrases of material from a source
• All ideas-- opinions or insights-- that are not your own
• All tables, graphs, charts, statistics, and images you get from a source

.

When You DO NOT Need Citation

• Your own analysis / explanation
• Common knowledge
• information that your reader could easily find in any number of general sources or information available in several different reference works
• Familiar quotations

Note 1: Even though information might be common knowledge, you cannot use the exact words of a reference source without quoting the source and providing documentation.

Note 2: When in doubt ask your instructor or a librarian or cite the source.

Common Knowledge

• Joel Coen directed Fargo in 1996.

• Emily Dickinson published only a handful of her many poems during her lifetime.

• Shakespeare often wrote sonnets using iambic pentameter.

Controversial? Cite it!

Statistics? Cite them!

Common Knowledge Worksheet

Open Attachment / Print Worksheets

The Dreaded "Plagiarism"

How do we avoid this?!

1. Know what it is

2. Know how to use citations

3. Know how to use signal phrases

In-Text Citations and Works Cited Entries

Demonstration:

Examine how the two work together in an essay:

https://d1oemxqau9vshd.cloudfront.net/app/uploads/sites/6/2022/09/Nassiri_final.pdf

MLA In-Text Citations

• Should include enough information to guide readers to a specific entry on your Works Cited page
• Uses the first element from the WC entry followed by location of information
• Typically consists of author's last name and page #

• Note 1: do not add punctuation between author name and

page #

• Note 2: p. or pp. should only occur in the WC list, but

not in the in-text citation

Citations with no Author

• No author? Use a shortened version of the title of the work. Shorten longer titles to one or two words.
• No page number? Don't provide anything; however, you could provide timestamps for videos or line numbers for poetry.

Integrating Sources

If you mention the author's last name early in the sentence, you should not repeat it in the parenthetical citation.

• According to Mann, encyclopedias are good sources for academic research (8).
• The main character in Joe Dirt comments, "Life is a garden; dig it" (01:22:34).

You may also have to include both components in the parenthetical citation.

• Another source confirms that encyclopedias are good sources for academic research (Mann 8).
• Joe comments to Brandy, "Life is a garden-- dig it" (Joe Dirt 01:22:34).

Where do we find more information?

1. The Bedford Handbook p. 314 (index page)

*Check out the orange pages!

2. Purdue Owl (The Purdue Online Writing Lab)

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html

*In-Text Citation Worksheet*

Start a new page for your WC list

This page tells the reader how to find your sources

• Margins & Header
• Title (Work; Works) (at top of page, centered)
• Alphabetical Order
• Hanging Indent

Citations

When including the URL for online resources, remove the http:// or https://

Citation: Additional Information

Titles of all major / long works = italicized

• Titles of web sites, titles of journals
• i.e. Netflix, Wuthering Heights, YouTube, JSTOR
• Quiz Question: titles of databases are italicized

Proper nouns that are not titles are not italicized = all major words are capitalized

• Names of publishing companies, organizations, or website sponsors/publishers
• i.e. Penguin Books, Wagner Institute, American Diabetes Association

See sample of Web site citation: BH p. 339

Commonly Used Citation Information

1.Two authors

Gourevitch, Philip, and Errol Morris. Standard Operating Procedure.

Penguin Books, 2008.

• Philip Gourevitch and Errol Morris suggest that true knowledge "comes from hands-on practice" (488).

OR

• Another source suggests that true knowledge "comes from hands-on practice" (Gourevitch and Morris 488).

2. Three or more authors

Mello, Michelle, et al. “Obesity: The New Frontier of Public Health Law.”

Health Law Handbook, Harvard Education Press, 2012.

• One such argument maintains that these laws will "encounter strong opposition" (Mello et al. 2602).

. . . continued

3. No author listed

"Healthy Weight." Centers for Disease Control, 15 May 2015, www.cdc.gov

healthyweight/.

• The Center for Disease Control suggests, "Staying in control of your weight contributes to good health now and as you age" ("Healthy Weight").
• According to an article called "Healthy Weight," being "in control of your weight contributes to good health now and as you age."

4. No date for online sources

"Losing a Country, Finding a Home." Amherst College, www.amherst.edu/

academiclife/departments/russian/acrs/lcfh. Accessed 4 Jan. 2016.

Helpful Knowledge: Works Cited Page

Months of the Year:

• January = Jan.

• February = Feb.

• March = Mar.

• April = Apr.

• August = Aug.

• September = Sept.

• October = Oct.

• November = Nov.

• December = Dec.

Bryan, Christy. “Ivory Worship.” National Geographic, Oct. 2012, pp. 28-61.

Vick, Karl. “The Stateless Statesman.” Time, 15 May 2014, pp. 23-37.

...continued

Words You Abbreviate: university presses, edition/version/volume numbers

• Mann, Thomas. The Oxford Guide to Library Research. 4th ed., Oxford UP,

2015.

Words You Should Spell Out: Other contributors

• Napoleon Dynamite. Directed by Jared Lawrence Hess, performances by

Jonathan Joseph Heder and Efren Ramirez, Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2004.

• Hess, Jared Lawrence, director. Napoleon Dynamite. Performances by Jonathan

Joseph Heder and Efren Ramirez, Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2004.

. . . and one more

Capitalize all words in the title of works except:

• articles (a, an, the)
• prepositions (to, from)
• coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but)
• UNLESS these words are FIRST or LAST in the title

Note: Sometimes the original source will use all caps or all lowercase; you should still maintain the above rules when using the titles in your essay.

MLA Relay

• Bedford Handbook pp. 314-315: index for quickly finding the types of citation examples you need

• Bedford Handbook p. 326: Template for the order in which you place your source's information, which shows where to place punctuation.

• Bedford Handbook pp. 328-329: information on how to format titles, dates, page numbers, etc. in works cited entries