Cr@p, I have to cite my
sources!
An MLA Citation Tutorial Brought To You By
Mark Ray
Slayer of Information Ignorance
Skyview High School
(Fall 2009 revision)
Why should I bother?
1. It’s about academic honesty—give credit
where credit is due.
2. It’s about covering your glutes in case
the information in your research turns out
to be inaccurate or biased.
3. It’s required.
What do you expect me to do?
• The VPS (Vancouver Public Schools) uses
MLA (Modern Language Association)
guidelines for citing (crediting) sources
used for your research. OK? (Okay?)
• You should cite any sources used for your
project using citations, a works cited page
and parenthetical references.
#1: What is a citation?
• The citation summarizes bibliographic data to
provide your reader (teacher) information to
locate the book, website, or magazine that you
used:
– Author (if given)
– Title of article, webpage, or entry
– Publication information (publisher, website, magazine
title, date, location)
– Medium (Print, Web, etc.)
– Date of access
How is a citation formatted?
• Each citation or entry follows a specific
format. Punctuation used in the citation
defines different types of information in the
entry. Formatting is very important.
• The parts of the citation follow a specific
order and have their own function.
What does a citation look like?
“Preview: 2008 Dodge Challenger." Billy Bubba’s
Hemiworld. 9 Feb. 2006. Web. 28 June 2006.
This citation example is for a webpage. Other
sources will look different and will have other
kinds of information.
What’s up with punctuation?
Titles of articles, webpages, or
entries in a reference work are
usually noted by quotation marks.
Titles of books, websites, or reference
sources are usually noted with italics.
This is a change from MLA 6th ed.
“Preview: 2008 Dodge Challenger." Billy Bubba’s
Hemiworld. 9 Feb. 2006. Web. 28 June 2006.
2006
<http://www.billybubba.org/hemi/challenger.htm>.
Dates in MLA citations follow a
specific format. It’s very European.
You need to define in what medium
you accessed the material. If you got
it from the web, use “Web.”
Each part of the citation is completed
with a period.
The web address or URL is no longer required in the
citation. This is another change in the 7th edition.
What goes in quotes and which
gets italicized?
• Generally speaking, the citation goes from
specific to general.
• Author always gets first billing, but if there
is no author, you need to list the title of the
specific article, entry, etc. first. That gets
the “quotation treatment.”
• Next, you need to include the larger work
in which that content was found. Probably
it was part of a book, magazine or website.
That source gets the italic treatment.
I still don’t get it.
• If you got an article from an encyclopedia:
– “Lewis and Clark” is the specific article
– World Book is the larger source
• If you got an article from a website:
– “Terrorists get their day in court.” is the article
– CNN.com is the larger source
• If you got an article from a magazine:
– “Obama challenged by right.” is the article
– Time is the larger source
What are the other mediums?
• Print. is used for almost anything printed
on paper. Examples are books, reference
magazines, pamphlets, etc.
• Web. Is used for any web-based content.
• Other medium examples include:
– CD
– Film
– Television
• Ask yourself—by which medium did you
get the information?
How do I cite other sources?
• Books, websites, databases, interviews, etc. all
have distinct citation formats and require
different bibliographic information.
• This tutorial would take forever if we covered
every one. And that’s a waste of time, paper, and
energy!
• Use a guide, online citation ‘engine’ or the
“Research Papers” link on your media webpage.
• Clickable links can be found on the last page of
this tutorial.
#2: What’s a works cited page?
• The works cited page is an alphabetical
listing of all cited sources for your
research. This list could include books,
websites, databases, interviews, and any
other source of information used.
• Remember that if you use someone else’s
ideas, words, quotes, data, or other
information, you must cite your source.
What about the other stuff?
• There may be situations where you read
or consult other sources but do not use
them directly in your paper. In this case,
you can include them in a bibliography.
• A bibliography will contain all sources in
your works cited list plus any additional
sources used.
How do I format a works cited page?
• The entire page is double spaced
• The page is titled “Works Cited”
• Use a hanging indent. If you tab, you may
get funky line breaks. See next slide on
how to format a page for hanging indents.
How to hang your indents
• Before starting your
works cited page…
• Open the “Format”
menu to “Paragraph”
• Select “Hanging” in
the “Special” section
of the “Indentation”
area
• Don’t mess with
anything else!
What should it look like?
“Works Cited’
centered at top of
page
Entries alphabetized
Page has hanging
indents
• What’s wrong with
this page?
– ‘cited’ should be
capitalized!
#3: What’s a parenthetical reference?
• A parenthetical reference (PR) is a pointer
to an entry in your works cited list.
• It provides a reference to your source in
the text of your paper.
• Information is contained in () parentheses.
• When you use ideas, data, or quotations
from a source and put them in your paper,
you need to note that source with a
parenthetical reference.
What is in a parenthetical reference?
• Because the parenthetical reference is a
pointer to an entry in your works cited list,
you put the last name of the author or the
first word of the title of the source if no
author is given.
• If you are using information from a book,
magazine, or print source, include the
page number where the information was
found.
What’s the connection?
• The parenthetical
reference should
match the first
word of the entry
in your works
cited page.
Where do I put them?
• Include a parenthetical
reference at the end of
the sentence,
paragraph, or section
that uses information
from that source.
• Place the reference
before the period if at
the end of a sentence.
In review…
• The requirement to cite your sources is about
academic honesty and good research practice.
• The Vancouver School District uses MLA or
Modern Language Association guidelines.
• A citation is a summary of bibliographic
information for your reader.
• A works cited page is a listing of your properlyformatted citations.
• A parenthetical reference is a pointer within
your paper or project to a citation in your works
cited list.
Where can I go for more help?
• Don’t be afraid to ask your local librainian!
• Links will connect you to desired page
– The VSD ‘Research Paper’ page
• Complete MLA guides and additional links
– Son of Citation Machine
• Automated citation maker…just fill in the blanks
– OWL MLA Update Page
• Clearly explains the changes from 6th ed. to 7th.
Very useful site.
Credits
• Some bibliographic entries used in this presentation
were created by Dr. Harry Stuurmans for the Vancouver
School District. Thanks Harry!
• Some concepts used were ‘thunk’ before me by Big Dan
McMurry formerly of Hudson’s Bay High School. (Go
Eagles!)
• All other stuff was created by Mark Ray for the benefit of
confused students of the Vancouver Public Schools.
• Use of this presentation by students and staff of the
Vancouver Public Schools is encouraged. Modification of
this tutorial is permitted so long as such changes are
noted. In other words--if you mess it up, don’t blame me!