Adapted from Writing the Research Paper: A Guide for Northern Valley Students by Brian Hanson-Harding with additional source material from:
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th Ed. [2009] and
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (www.owl.english.purdue.edu)
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Overview :
Start preparing your Works Cited list as soon as you begin your research .
This page tells you what information you need to record from your sources.
INFORMATION TO COLLECT FROM SOURCES:
Here are some common features you must find before citing electronic sources in MLA style.
Important : Not every source will provide all of the following information. However, collect as much of the following information as possible both for your citations and for your research notes:
1.
A UTHOR AND / OR EDITOR NAME ( S ) (if available; if not, skip ahead to #2).
2.
A
RTICLE NAME
in “quotation marks” (if there is an article name; if not, skip ahead to #3).
3.
T ITLE of the Website, project, or book in italics .
 Note : A website’s URL is not a site’s name; the title typically appears at the very top of the home page.
4.
Any VERSION NUMBERS available, including revisions, posting dates, volumes, or issue numbers.
5.
P UBLISHER INFORMATION , including the publisher name, city (books only), and publishing date.
 Use n.p.
to indicate that neither a publisher nor a sponsor name has been provided.
 Use n.d.
when the web page does not provide a posting/copyright date.
6.
Take note of any PAGE NUMBERS (for chapters/articles in books, newspaper or magazine articles in print and online, and database articles ONLY.
 No page numbers needed for web pages.
 If page numbers are not listed, use the abbreviation n. pag.
7.
M EDIUM of publication (Web or Print).
8.
For databases and websites only: A
CCESS
D
ATE
, the date on which you found this source.
9.
For databases and websites only: URL .
 If the site is a major publisher or database (such as The New York Times or Ebsco ),
DO NOT include anything after the “.com.” For example: www.nytimes.com
.
 However, if the site is not a major publisher, include the full URL.
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SAMPLE WEBSITE ARTICLE:
URL: http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/04/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Practice recording the information you would need to create a Works Cited entry for this source.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________________________________________
7. ________________________________________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________________________________________
9. ________________________________________________________________________________
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SAMPLE DATABASE ARTICLE:
Practice recording the information you would need to create a Works Cited entry for this source.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________________________________________
7. ________________________________________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________________________________________
9. ________________________________________________________________________________
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SAMPLE BOOK SOURCE:
Practice recording the information you would need to create a Works Cited entry for this source.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________________________________________
7. ________________________________________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________________________________________
9. ________________________________________________________________________________
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You are permitted to use sites such as www.easybib.com
and www.bibme.org
for the creation of your Works Cited list.
However, you MUST check the Works Cited entries created on these sites to ensure that your citation is not missing any essential information. Compare your citations with those listed on pages 8-10 of this guide.
Format of Works Cited List :
 Begin your works cited list on a separate page from the text of the essay under the title
Works Cited o This title should be centered at the top of the page with no quotation marks or underlining, and it should be in 12-point font.
 Make the first line of each entry in your list flush left with the margin. o Subsequent lines in each entry should be indented one-half inch (hit return after the first line and then press the “tab” key once)
 Double-space all entries, with no extra spaces between entries.
 Italicize titles of longer works (books, magazines, newspapers) and websites/databases; use
“quotation marks” for titles of shorter works (poems, articles). DO NOT use underlining.
 Alphabetize the list of sources by the first word in each entry (usually the author's last name or, if unavailable, the title of the article).
 Place URL in <angle brackets> at the end of the entry and end with a period. For long
URLs, break lines ONLY at slashes / . Example : <www.cnn.com>.
 For electronic sources (websites/databases), if no publisher/sponsor is listed, type n.p. If no publication date is listed, type n.d. If no page numbers are listed, type n. pag.
 If you have cited more than one work by the same author, order entries alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens (-) in place of the author’s name for every entry after the first. o Example:
Burke, Kenneth. A Grammar of Motives . ( . . . entry continues)
---. A Rhetoric of Motives . ( . . . entry continues)
 Once you have recorded all of the necessary information from your sources, visit www.easybib.com
or www.bibme.com
to create your Works Cited list.
 Important: Double-check your Works Cited list against the sample entries on pages 8, 9, and 10 of this guide to make sure that you have included all of the required information.
DO NOT ASSUME that the websites listed above will follow all of the MLA guidelines!!
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Sample Works Cited List
Works Cited
Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology . New York:
Springer, 2005. Print.
Milken, Michael, Gary Becker, Myron Scholes, and Daniel Kahneman. "On Global Warming and
Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly 23.4 (2006): 63. Print.
Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American
Economic Review 96.2 (2006): 31-34. Print.
---. "Global Warming Economics." Science 9 Nov. 2001: 1283-84. Science Online . Web.
Levy 6
24 May 2009.
Restuccia, Andrew. "Al Gore: Hurricane Sandy is a global warming warning." POLITICO. N.p., 30
Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.
Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." Usnews.com
. US News & World Rept., 6 May 2007.
Web. 24 May 2009.
Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming . Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.
In the document above, find. . .
1. two articles written by the same author. List author name here: _____________________________
2. the number of print sources this writer used. List the number here: ________________________
3. the number of web sources this writer used. List the number here: ________________________
Answer the following questions with short responses:
4. Summarize two formatting features of this Works Cited list.
5. Explain how the sources on the list are organized.
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For directions on how to cite any electronic resources not listed below, visit: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
1. DATABASE (SUCH AS POINTS OF VIEW OR EBSCO )
Basic Form
Author Last Name, First Name (skip if no author). “Title of Article.” Title of Original Print Source
(if applicable; include any issue or volume number, if available) Date published: Pages. Title of Database . Medium of Publication (Web). Date you accessed the material.
Example
Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal 50.1
(2007): 173-96. ProQuest . Web. 27 May 2009.
2. WEB PAGE
Basic Form
Name of author/editor/creator (skip if not given). "Article Name" (skip if not given). Title of website/ project/online book . Any version numbers (including revisions, posting dates, volume, or issue numbers; skip if not given). Publisher name, publishing date (if name not given use n.p.; if date not given use n.d.). Medium of Publication (Web). Date you accessed the material. <URL>.
Example
"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com
. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009. <www.ehow.com>
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3. MAGAZINE (ONLINE)
Basic Form
Author. "Article Title." Magazine Title . Publisher name, publishing date (if name not given use n.p.; if date not given use n.d.). Medium of Publication (Web). Date you accessed the material.
<URL>.
Example
Murphy, H. Lee. "Saturn's Orbit Still High With Consumers." Marketing News Online . American
Marketing Association, 31 Aug. 1998. 1 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.ama.org/pubs/mn/0818/n1.htm>.
4. NEWSPAPER (ONLINE)
Basic Form
Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper . Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Example
Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry.
The New York Times . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
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For directions on how to cite any print or other format resources not listed below, visit: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/ (books) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/07/ (periodicals) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/09/ (other, including interviews, movies/TV shows, audio)
1.
Book with a single author:
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man . New York: Vintage Books, 1972. Print.
2.
Book with multiple authors:
Eastman, A.M. and G.B. Harrison. Shakespeare’s Critics . Ann Arbor: The University
Of Michigan Press, 1964. Print.
3.
An anonymous book
Who’s Who 1984-1985 . 43 rd ed. 2 vols. London: A.C. Black, Ltd., 1985. Print.
4.
A work in a collection of pieces by different authors
O’Connor, Flannery. “Everything that Rises Must Converge.” Mirrors: An
Introduction to Literature.
R. Reaske. 2 nd
Ed. John R. Knott, Jr., and Christopher R.
ed. San Francisco: Canfield, 1975. 58-67. Print.
5.
Article from a weekly or monthly magazine or newspaper
Kilmartin, Cecilia. “The Wales of Dylan Thomas.” New Yorker 23 Sept.
1982: 34-48. Print.
6.
Article from daily newspaper
Krugman, Andrew. "Fear of Eating." New York Times 21 May 2007 late ed.: A1.
Print.
7. Article in a reference book (ex: encyclopedias, dictionaries).
“Ideology.” The American Heritage Dictionary . 3 rd ed. 1997. Print.
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Overview:
 Your note cards must display a variety of note-taking skills: paraphrasing, summary, and direct quotations.
 Of your 40 note cards, approximately half (about 20 cards) should contain paraphrased or summarized information, and the other half should contain direct quotations.
Format of Note Cards:
 Use 3” x 5” note cards.
 State only one fact per note card (one quotation OR one summarized/paraphrased fact) o Exception: If 2-3 brief facts are related (ex: birth date and place; definitions of key terms), they may appear on a single card.
 Record author’s last name and page number (if available) in upper left corner of every card. o If author name is unavailable, use editor’s last name. o If a website without an author/editor, use article or web page name only (NO page number). Example : “Wonders of the World”
 At the bottom of each card, write the word PARAPHRASE or QUOTATION to distinguish between the cards containing your own wording and those containing a direct quotation from the source author.
 Number the cards taken from each source, and start the numbering over with each new source.
For example : You might have Uzawa cards #1, 2, 3, and 4, and then Nordhaus cards #1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
SAMPLE NOTE CARDS:
UTHOR
PAGE NO
ARD
UTHOR
PAGE NO
Uzawa 46 1
Global Warming:
 Rise in temp. of Earth’s atmosphere
 Also associated with rise in sea levels
PARAPHRASE
ARD
Uzawa 57 2
“Most countries are parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic (i.e., human-induced) climate change.”
QUOTATION
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When to use quotations:
 Use a QUOTATION when the author says something in a unique way. o No need to use quotations when using the following types of information:
 “Common knowledge”: things like folklore, common sense observations, myths, urban legends, and historical events (but not historical documents)
 Your own observations and insights, your own thoughts, and your own conclusions about a subject
 Generally-accepted facts, for example: Pollution is bad for the environment o When in doubt, use a direct quotation.
 Use PARAPHRASE or SUMMARY when you need to capture important information, but the actual wording is not important. o Make sure your version is not too similar to the original wording. o We will discuss what constitutes acceptable paraphrasing/summarizing versus what constitutes
PLAGIARISM in class.
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The outline:
 should be an accurate reflection of what the reader should expect to see in the body paragraphs (only) of your final essay. You do NOT outline introduction and body paragraphs.
 must be written in COMPLETE SENTENCES.
 must include citations for all direct quotations and paraphrased information taken from your sources.
Outline Format:
 Use Harvard outline format (each level of outline moves an additional tab stop to the right):
I.
A.
1.
2. a. b. a. b.
B.
1.
2. a. b. a. b.
II.
A.
(etc.)
 Capital Roman numerals ( I, II ) are used for major SUB-TOPICS of your paper, for example:
I. Global Warming
 Capital letters ( A, B ) should be used for PARAGRAPH TOPIC SENTENCES , for example:
A. Global Warming describes the process of the Earth’s atmosphere heating up.
 Numbers ( 1, 2 ) should be used for MAJORS (IDEAS THAT SUPPORT THE TOPIC
SENTENCE ), for example:
1. Most scientists agree it is caused by human activity, and it will continue to worsen in the next 100 years.
 Lower-case letters ( a, b ) should be used for MINORS (SUPPORTING DETAILS), including quotations. For example: a. Global Warming is mainly caused by “increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation”
(Leroux 9).
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Sample Outline (Partial) :
Jennifer Levy
Language Arts
Mrs. Levy
March 26, 2014
Research Paper Outline
Thesis: Global Warming poses a catastrophic threat to humans, animals, and other life forms.
I. Global Warming
II.
A.
Global Warming describes the process of the Earth’s atmosphere heating up (Leroux 10).
1.
Most scientists agree it is caused by human activity, and it will continue to worsen in the next 100 years (Leroux 9). a.
Global Warming is mainly caused by “increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation” (Leroux 9). b.
“Since the early 20th century, Earth's mean surface temperature has increased by about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F), with about two-thirds of the increase occurring since 1980”
(Shulte). c.
In the current century the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimate that the Earth's temperature will see an increase somewhere between 1.1°C to 6.4 °C (Nordhaus
32).
2.
Next major. a.
Minor #1. b.
Minor #2.
3.
Next point. a.
Minor #1. b.
Minor #2.
B.
Next paragraph topic sentence.
( . . .)
Next sub-topic
( . . . )
YOUR OUTLINE WILL HAVE TWO SUB-TOPICS:
I. General background information about your topic.
 You will explain, broadly, what your topic is all about. For example, if your topic is stem cell research, you will explain what stem cells are, how they work, etc.
 You might also begin to introduce the controversy surrounding this topic (pro and con positions) [or you may include this in part II, below].
 This section must contain 1-2 body paragraphs.
II. In this section, you will argue the side of the controversy you are supporting.
 Be sure to include at least one counter and rebuttal in this section (not required for every body paragraph here, unless you really want a challenge!).
 This section must contain 3 body paragraphs.
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Overview:
Once your outline has been approved, you are ready to begin drafting your paper. Always remember to give credit to your sources—whether paraphrased, summarized, or directly quoted—using in-text citations.
Q UOTING , P ARAPHRASING , AND S UMMARIZING : G UIDELINES
A.
C
OMMON
K
NOWLEDGE
:
COMMON KNOWLEDGE—information such as dates of birth and death, the year a company was founded, the city where a person or company resides, and generally accepted facts (e.g., “pollution is bad for the environment”)—does NOT need to be cited.
From Purdue University’s OWL (Online Writing Lab) website:
“Deciding if Something is ‘Common Knowledge’
Generally speaking, you can regard something as common knowledge if you find the same information undocumented in at least five credible sources. Additionally, it might be common knowledge if you think the information you're presenting is something your readers will already know, or something that a person could easily find in general reference sources [such as encyclopedias or dictionaries]. But when in doubt, cite ; if the citation turns out to be unnecessary, your teacher or editor will tell you.”
B.
D IRECT Q UOTATIONS :
Whenever you use a source’s exact words, you must put quotation marks around them.
For example: Mrs. Levy said, “Take out your homework, please.”
Guidelines for Using Quotations:
1.
Don’t quote a whole paragraph when all you are really interested in is a key phrase. Quote only when the exact wording is essential to making/showing your point.
2.
Quotations may be used only to support a point— not to substitute for one—therefore a quotation cannot be a topic sentence or a major.
A quote CANNOT be a stand-alone sentence.
o ALWAYS introduce quotations with a brief attribution (for ex.: According to politician
Sarah Palin, . . .”) or o Lead-in phrase. (for ex.: Global Warming is often referred to “a change in the . . .”)
Refer to the handout, “W ORKING WITH QUOTATIONS : A N I NTRODUCTION ” in the writing section of your binder for more ways to integrate quotations into your writing.
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Guidelines for Using Quotations (continued):
4. Quote accurately! You CAN change, add, or leave something out of a quotation, but you must show what you’ve done. You can indicate changes, omissions, or additions by using . . . or [ ]
 Ellipses . . . to omit words from the original text. Make sure your omissions do not distort or destroy the meaning, grammar, or syntax of the original.
Sample:
Global Warming is mainly caused by “increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation” (Leroux 9).
 Square brackets [ ] (NOT parentheses, which could be read as part of the original text) to indicate additions or changes to the original wording.
Sample:
Global Warming is mainly caused by “increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases [in the atmosphere] produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation” (Leroux 9).
5. When quoting text, use regular (double) “ quotations.
” If the text you are quoting contains a quotation itself, that quote-within-a-quote gets single ‘ quotations.
’
Sample:
“Former vice president-turned-climate-change-activist Al Gore warned Tuesday that the storm that ravaged the East Coast Monday is ‘a disturbing sign of things to come.’ ”
(Restuccia).
6. If the quotation you want to use is three or more sentences in length, use BLOCK FORM and show where it came from.
Sample Block Quotation:
Nordhaus points out in the article "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global
Warming" that
. . . the Kyoto Protocol is widely seen as somewhere between troubled and terminal.
Early troubles came with the failure to include the major developing countries along with lack of an agreed-upon mechanism to include new countries and extend the agreement to new periods. The major blow came when the United States withdrew from the Treaty in 2001. By 2002, the Protocol covered only 30% of global emissions, while the hard enforcement mechanism in the ETS accounts for about 8% of global emissions. (Nordhaus “After Kyoto . . .” 34)
Note : When using block quotation form, no quotations are necessary, but you must indent the text one inch
(two tab stops) from the left margin.
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C.
M IXING QUOTATION WITH PARAPHRASE
Whenever you quote just a few words, perhaps paraphrasing the rest, you still must put quotation marks around the words you’ve quoted and show where the passage came from:
Sample:
The current state of the Kyoto Protocol is described as “somewhere between troubled and terminal”
(Nordhaus “After Kyoto . . .” 34)
D.
S IMPLE PARAPHRASE
Whenever you paraphrase or summarize a source, even though you are not using the exact wording of the original, you must still acknowledge that the ideas are not your own by using a citation:
Sample:
The Kyoto Protocol is currently functioning at a level that some would call troubled, while others would call at-an-end (Nordhaus “After Kyoto . . .” 34).
E.
CITATIONS
A citation is a parenthetical notation in the text of your essay that indicates the source of the information you are paraphrasing/summarizing or quoting.
How to cite:

A citation includes the author’s last name and the page number (if available) where the information was found—both appear together in parentheses at the end of a sentence where you use information from a source.

If no author name is given, use an editor’s last name. If no editor is named, use the article title (in quotes) OR web page title (in italics) OR book title (in italics).
 When citing one sentence of quoted material , the citation comes between the end quotation mark and the period.
Ex: “ . . . the end” (Levy).
 When citing two sentences of quoted material , the citation comes after the period and end quotation mark.
Ex: “. . . the end.” (Levy)
 When citing one sentence of paraphrased or summarized information, place the citation before any punctuation, such as a comma or a period.
Ex : . . . the end (Levy).
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 When citing two or more sentences of material from the same source , place the citation after the period of the last sentence.
Ex: . . . the end. (Levy) o You must introduce the source of this information at the start of the first sentence [ Ex : According to environmental activist June Lee, . . .].
SOURCE TYPE
Print Book (with author/editor )
Sample Citations:
Print Book (no author/editor)
Database Article (with author/editor)
SAMPLE CITATION
(Uzawa 42)
[Note: NO COMMA between author and page number]
( Sordid Lives 46)
Database Article (no author/editor)
with Page Numbers
Website (with author/editor)
(Uzawa)
(“How to Succeed in Business” 14)
Website (no author/editor)
(Uzawa)
(American Psychological Association)
(“Metropolitan Museum Treasures”)
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Can you find these unusual citation situations on the sample research paper page below?
Highlight and label each one.
1.
Two sources in one citation
2.
An indirect quotation (quotation that is already within quotations) of less than four
lines
3.
A quotation within a quotation of more than four lines
4.
A citation of an anonymous source
5.
Insertion of information into a quotation for clarity
6.
A citation covering more than one sentence of paraphrased material
7.
Author’s name in sentence, not in parentheses
Sample Page
Levy 3 use symbols. According to Freud, expressions of romantic feelings are always private and are often seen as shameful (Stwertka 44; Goldenson 183). Symbols are used to shield the embarrassment and any uncomfortable feelings the dreamer might have toward romantic feelings. David Foulkes, in The Psychology of Sleep , asserts that when a dream involves a composite, or an imaginary person who takes the place of a real person, it usually shows that the dreamer is intimidated by that person. These composites allow the dreamer to confront these feelings of inferiority without actually letting the dreamer know who is causing these feelings. (24) Dreams with symbolism can also promote positive images for the future. As Freud has stated, “ ‘Dreams are derived from the past in every sense . . . by picturing our wishes fulfilled, dreams are, after all, leading us into the future’
” (qtd. in Katz 151).
There are many factors, all controlled by the dreamer’s personality, which influence dream patters. One major factor is the reaction to outside stimuli, which is manifested as eye movement. Dreams that contain eye movement are “more detailed and vivid and are easier to recall” ( Landscape 39). Furthermore, it is not at all uncommon for the unconscious to manipulate a dream in order to defend against the disturbance of an outside stimulus.
Often dreams are confusing because, as a dreamer experiences a disturbance, his personality creates a situation to express the disturbance in the dream. [Psychologist Carl] Jung explained,
“This substitute situation allows the dreamer to remain unconscious.” (Canter 91)
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Name ____________________________ Date ________ Period _____
Drafting/
Writing
In-Text
Citations
Using quotations
What have you learned about each step of the research paper process, and what do you still need to know? For each step listed below, list something you’ve learned, and something you still don’t understand or still need to know in order to begin that step of the process.
Works
Cited List
KNOW NEED TO KNOW
Note cards
Outline
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