How do We Cite? What are the Formats? How are the Citations Punctuated? By: John Hagee, Jennifer Barnes, Shanna Todd, and Keisha McCullough MLA In-Text Citations • You need parenthetical references to recognize when an idea or fact has been taken from a source. • The text either names the author of the source or doesn’t. The parenthetical reference includes at least a page number (if the source has page numbers) • In-text citation refers the reader to the works cited section of the paper. Parenthetical Citations are Used For • Direct quotes • Paraphrasing • Summarizing Tip- If it’s not your idea then give the credit to whose it is!! Give credit when credit is due!! Author Name in the Text • If the author’s name is used in the sentence, then only the page number is necessary. • ex. In Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe, the main character learns how to eat on the island (53). Author’s Name NOT in the Text If you do not use the author’s name in the sentence, then you put the author’s last name and page number in parentheses. ex. Recent research indicates that greasy food does not cause digestive problems (Biernacki 83). If NO Author is Given "If the author is unknown, use a shortened form of the title in your citation" (Harris 179). ex. Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins to boost the immune system ("Vitamins and Their" 2). With a Verbatim Quote "A reference directly after a quotation follows outside the quotation mark but before the period" (Harris 179). ex. According to Hagstrom, Warren Buffett thinks "growth and value investing are joined at the hip" (95). If it's an Online Source • For Internet sources, start with the first word of the citation in your Works Cited list. • ex. If you want to study one of the world's oldest civilizations, you can learn about China ("China"). Note on online sources: • Online sources should be alphabetized by author, or by title if no author is listed. This determines what you use in the in-text citation. Work Cited • Harris, Muriel. The Writer’s FAQs. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2007. • Kilborn, Judith. “MLA Parenthetical Documentation.” The Write Place. 16 Mar 2004. Saint Cloud State University. 22 Jun 2008 <http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/research/mlaparen.html>. The End Questions????