Essay Writing
Internal Documentation
a.k.a. in-text citation or parenthetical citation
Set up a page for notes with
these categories:
Why use internal
documentation?
When do I document?
What are the rules?
Exceptions to the rules.
How to cite web sources.
Why use internal documentation?
refers reader to works cited page
shows reader you did your
research
makes you more credible
and believable
What is
this?
Example of internal
documentation
Essay
Works Cited
Que 1
Que 7
Susie Que
Mrs. Harmon
English 8
13 April 20110
Crime in the U.S.
Crime is rising in most
metropolitan areas in the
United States (Barker
25).
Works Cited
Barker, Tim. Crime in the
United States. New York:
Harper Perennial, 1999.
Print.
Jones, Sally. Books Are
Great. Dallas: Real Cool
Publishing, Inc., 2004.
Print.
When do I document?
Always cite your source when you:
 quote an author directly
 put an author’s ideas in your own words
 summarize facts you found from research
If you do not cite, you are plagiarizing! Even if
it’s in your own words, you have to give
credit to the author for the ideas and facts
you found; if you don’t, you are saying
these ideas are your own, which is theft.
What are the rules?
 Put internal documentation in (parenthesis)
 Put internal documentation at end of thought
- usually end of sentence
- sometimes at end of phrase
- include wherever it’s least distracting
 Include the author’s name and page # unless:
- you already mention author in sentence
- author isn’t provided
- page # isn’t provided (websites)
 Add punctuation after internal documentation
Ex.
Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in the United
States (Barker 25).
Rules: where to place it
 Put internal documentation at end of thought
Ex.
Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in the
United States (Barker 25).
usually at end of sentence
Rules: what punctuation to
include
 Put internal documentation in
(parenthesis)
Ex.
Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in the
United States (Barker 25).
parenthesis before and after
Rules: what to include
 Include the author’s name and page #
Ex.
Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in the
United States (Barker 25).
page # on which this fact was found
author
Rules: where to place end
punctuation
 Add punctuation after internal
documentation
Ex.
Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in
the United States (Barker 25).
period goes
after internal documentation
Exceptions to the rules:
author’s name in sentence
 Including an expert’s name in sentence
- gives you more credibility if you cite an expert
- only needed the first time you introduce this source
author
Barra, author of “Cultural Stumbling Blocks” states, “learning the language,
which most foreign visitors consider their only barrier to understanding, is
actually only the beginning” (25).
author
Don’t include author again
Fred Donner, law professor at Harvard University, stated, “capital
punishment violates the Constitution of the U.S. in that it is discriminatory
and is a form of cruel and unusual punishment” (16).
Don’t include author again
Exceptions to the rules:
anonymous authors
 In-text:
 The number of people who are becoming
vegetarians has been on the rise since the 1970s
(“Trends in Eating Habits” 24).
Works cited:
“Trends in Eating Habits.” Vegetarian Times Mar.
2000: 20-25. Print.
 Note: If you cite Vegetarian Times in your in-text citation rather than
“Trends in Eating Habits,” readers will have a hard time locating the source
in the works cited page. They would have been searching under “V” for
Vegetarian Times instead of “T” for “Trends.” In addition, what if you use
several articles from Vegetarian Times? How would readers know which
one you mean?
Exceptions to the rules:
more than one author
 If there’s more than one author:
- List all the last names of the authors in the same order as you did
in your works cited page (Franklin, Cardigan, and Davis 25).
- List the last name of the first author listed in the works cited
page followed by et al. (Franklin et al. 25).
 If there’s more than one source by the same author:
- also include the title or a shortened version of the title after
the name and before the page number (Chaplan, “Homes” 3).
Other tricky situations
 Two Authors with the Same Last Name:
- include the first initial (L. Rivers 23).
- if they share the same first initial, use the entire first name (Lucy Rivers 23).
 Using Two Sources to Support a Statement: Include the last name and page
number of the first author followed by a semicolon and the last name and page
number of the second author.
- (Kipp 22; Randolph 3)
- (Natl. Research Council 3-5; “Death” 2)
 Indirect Source: someone’s published account of another’s spoken remarks.
- Greene claims that genetic engineering can be “a frightening concept
when misunderstood” (qtd. in Lerner 45).
Note: Lerner is the author of the book where you found this quote. So, Lerner will
appear in your works cited page, not Greene. If you only included the page number here,
your reader would believe Greene was the author and would look for her name in the
works cited page.
Citing an Entire Web Site
 It is necessary to list your date of access because web
postings are often updated, and information available on
one date may no longer be available later. Be sure to
include the complete address for the site.
 Remember to use n.p. if no publisher name is available
and n.d. if no publishing date is given.
 Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of
Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization
affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of
resource creation (if available). Medium of publication.
Date of access.
Citing a Page on a Web Site
 For an individual page on a Web site, list the
author or alias if known, followed by the
information covered above for entire Web
sites. Remember to use n.p. if no publisher
name is available and n.d. if no publishing
date is given.
 "How to Make Vegetarian Chili."
eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
What do you
notice in
terms of
format
Sample
Works Cited
"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental
Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web.
24 May 2009.
Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate
Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web.
25 May 2009.
Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New
York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.
Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient
Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. Rogerebert.com. Sun-Times
News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009.
Exceptions to the rules:
electronic sources
 Websites don’t have page numbers, so substitute with:
- paragraph #s
- sections of the website (e.g. introduction)
- screen #s
Examples:
1. Paragraphs: “Sleep deprivation affects 1 out of 4 teens” (Barton, par. 5).
2. Sections: “Sleep deprivation affects 1 out of 4 teens” (Barton, Introduction).
3. Screens: “Sleep deprivation affects 1 out of 4 teens” (Barton, screens 2-3).