In- Text Documentation:
A Guide for Using the Green Writing Research Papers Handbook Effectively
• First Step
– Prepare the bibliographic entries for the sources you
used.
Most common sources used:
A book with a single author:
An article from
an online subscription
periodical database (Electric Library,
EBSCOhost, etc….) :
A Professional Web Site:
nd
2
Step- Make your Works
Cited Page
• Once you have your resources in the correct
bibliographic format, you must create a works
cited page.
• The words “Works Cited” are typed one inch
from the top of the page
• Arrange your bibliographic entries in alphabetical
order by author’s last name.
If your entry does not start with an author,
you use the first word in the title.
Sample Works Cited Page
Works Cited
Bennet Jr., Lerone. “10 Biggest Lies About Black History.”
Ebony May 2001: 86+. EBSCOhost. Unami Middle
School Library, Chalfont, PA. 17 October 2001.
Holzer, Harold, ed. Abraham Lincoln- The Writer: A
Treasury of His Greatest Speeches and Letters.
Honesdale: Boyds Mill Press, 2000.
“Lincoln Rallies New Yorkers Against Slavery.” PBS Kids:
Learning Adventures in Citizenship. 17 October 2001
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/episode2/topic8/
e2_t8_sl-lr.html>.
Writing your Paper:
What do you need to Cite?
• All Statistics
• All Direct Quotes
• Any information that is not common knowledge
Common knowledge is defined as
information you found in more than 3
sources.
• Any information that is controversial or
questionable.
• Opinions from scholars and other individuals you
consulted.
How to do parenthetical or intext documentation
• To put it simply, after you write information that
qualifies as needing to be cited, you tell the
reader right away where you found the
information. You do this by listing the author’s
name and the page number of the source in
parenthesis after the sentence in which the
information was found. If no author is given,
you give the first few words of the title of the
article. Basically, you put in parenthesis the
words that match the first words of your entry
on the Works Cited page.
Sample: Direct Quote
In June of 1858, Abraham Lincoln stated in
his speech to the Republican Party
convention, “I believe this government
cannot endure, permanently half slave and
half free” ( Holzer 37).
author
page
period at the end of parenthesis
Sample- Works Cited
Works Cited
Bennet Jr., Lerone. “10 Biggest Lies About Black History.”
Ebony May 2001: 86+. EBSCOhost. Unami Middle
School Library, Chalfont, PA. 17 October 2001.
Holzer, Harold, ed. Abraham Lincoln- The Writer: A Treasury
of His Greatest Speeches and Letters. Honesdale: Boyds Mill
Press, 2000.
“Lincoln Rallies New Yorkers Against Slavery.” PBS Kids:
Learning Adventures in Citizenship. 17 October 2001
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/episode2/topic8/
e2_t8_sl-lr.html>.
Sample: Statistic
The Emancipation Proclamation did not free
all slaves. In fact, it excluded the 276,000
slaves in the state of Tennessee (Bennett).
Author
period outside of parenthesis
No page number provided here because this information was found
in an electronic forma.t. You can’t be sure which page it appeared on
in the original article
Sample- Works Cited
Works Cited
Bennet Jr., Lerone. “10 Biggest Lies About Black History.”
Ebony May 2001: 86+. EBSCOhost. Unami Middle
School Library, Chalfont, PA. 17 October 2001.
Holzer, Harold, ed. Abraham Lincoln- The Writer: A Treasury
of His Greatest Speeches and Letters. Honesdale: Boyds Mill
Press, 2000.
“Lincoln Rallies New Yorkers Against Slavery.” PBS Kids:
Learning Adventures in Citizenship. 17 October 2001
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/episode2/topic8/
e2_t8_sl-lr.html>.
Sample- A paraphrased opinion
During his presidential campaign in 1860, Lincoln understood
that it was important for him to win over America’s newspaper
capital, New York City. Lincoln was successful in winning
their support because he managed to give each opposing
faction a little bit of what they wanted. For instance, for the
abolitionists he promised that he would not allow slavery to
spread into the West. For the business men with interests in
the South, he promised that slavery could remain in the South.
This strategy along with Mathew Brady’s photographs was
widely covered by the newspapers and magazines raising
Lincoln to celebrity status (“Lincoln”).
Title of article
period
Sample- Works Cited
Works Cited
Bennet Jr., Lerone. “10 Biggest Lies About Black History.”
Ebony May 2001: 86+. EBSCOhost. Unami Middle
School Library, Chalfont, PA. 17 October 2001.
Holzer, Harold, ed. Abraham Lincoln- The Writer: A Treasury
of His Greatest Speeches and Letters. Honesdale: Boyds Mill
Press, 2000.
“Lincoln Rallies New Yorkers Against Slavery.” PBS Kids:
Learning Adventures in Citizenship. 17 October 2001
<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/episode2/topic8/
e2_t8_sl-lr.html>.
Help for In-Text Documentation
in your green guide book
• Examples of In-text documentation format:
Pages 22- 29.
• Guidelines for how much of your paper should be
cited: page 18.
Basic rule- cited information accounts
for 50% to 75% of a research paper.
• Explanation of what purpose documentation
serves in your paper: page 18.