In text Citations
What is citing?
4 Use of the exact
words from a text,
film, tape, or
interview
4 What people say
4 What others say
about people
4 Descriptive
passages or phrases
4 Statistics
4 Definitions
Why cite?
4 To provide specific detail
or evidence to support
opinions
4 To include facts to
illustrate or prove a point
4 To emphasize a point
4 To add credibility by
including the opinions of
experts.
? Why Use MLA Format?
4 Protects yourself from
plagiarism
4 Allows readers to crossreference your sources
easily
4 Provides consistent
format within a
discipline
4 Gives you credibility as a
writer
Why Use MLA Format?
4 The correct documentation of
your sources is serious
business!
4 If you plagiarize, even
inadvertently, you may flunk
your class, be expelled from
college, suspended from NHS>
4 Plagiarism in your professional
career can result in being sued,
fired, and publicly embarrassed
Where Do I Find MLA
Format?
4 Owl at Purdue website
4 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
owl/resource/747/01/
4 http://library.rit.edu/pubs/gui
des/mla.pdf
MLA Style: Two Parts
4 In text/ Parenthetical
Citations
4 Works Cited Page
When Should You Use In Text/
Parenthetical Documentation?
4When quoting/citing
that are not your own
4Quoting/citing means
to repeat another source
word for word, using
quotation marks.
When Should You Use In Text/
Parenthetical Documentation?
4 When summarizing
facts and ideas from
a source
4 When paraphrasing
facts and ideas from
a source
When Do You Cite?
Don’t fall into the trap of
plagiarism!
If the idea or information
you are using did not
originate in your own
mind . . .
Keys to In-Text Citations
Readability!
4 Keep references brief
4 Give only information
needed to identify the
source on your Works
Cited page--crossreferencing!
4 Do not repeat unnecessary
information
Handling In-Text Citations
Typical in-text citation:
Citation with source author mentioned in text:
Handling In-Text Citations
Consecutive citations from the same source:
Handling In-Text Citations
Sometimes more information is necessary.
4 More than one author with the same last name
(W. Wordsworth 23)
(D. Wordsworth 224)
4 More than one work by the same author
(Joyce, Portrait 121)
(Joyce, Ulysses 556)
4Different volumes of a multi-volume work
(Jones 1: 336)
4Citing indirect sources
(Johnson qtd. in Boswell 450)
Handling In-Text Citations
Other problems:
4 If the source has no known author, then use
an abbreviated version of the title:
Full Title: “California Cigarette Tax Deters Smokers”
In-text Citation: (“California ” A14)
4If the source is only one page in length or is a
web page with no apparent pagination:
Source: Dave Poland’s “Hot Button” web column
In-text Citation: (Poland)
When To Use Quotations
Choose your quotations carefully and for specific reasons.
4 Later reference
4 Memorable language
4 Authority
4 Accuracy
4 Brevity
When To Use Quotations
Choose your quotations carefully and for specific reasons.
4 Use quotations to support
your argument
4 A short phrase or sentence is
more easily understood than a
long quotation.
4 Look for the "kernel" or the
most important part of the
quotation and extract it.
4 Paraphrase a quotation in your
own words when possible.
Handling Long Quotations
Handling Quotes in Your Text
There are many different
combinations and
variations within MLA
citation format.
If you run into something
unusual, look it up!
Where
can you go for additional help
with MLA documentation?
4 Owl at Purdue
4 MLA Handbook