Documentation
• Giving credit to a source for words and ideas
borrowed from a source
• Quotations
• Paraphrases/Summaries
• Basic rule: Everything you use that is from a
source has to be documented.
Exception: Common Knowledge
• Basic information available in numerous sources
• Information commonly accepted in a particular
field of study
• NOT subjective opinions, analysis, interpretations
Examples
• “Desiree’s Baby” was written in 1893.
• The story is about a woman, Desiree, whose
race is questioned by her husband.
• Desiree’s initial reaction to her husband’s
“accusation” regarding her race reveals both
her conscious realization of her dependent
status as a woman and her unconscious
racism against non-whites.
• No documentation necessary for common
knowledge
• When in doubt, document to avoid plagiarism
(or just ask).
• ALWAYS document exact words, even if the
ideas are common knowledge
Documentation Format (MLA)
• Two Components for Documentation:
– Parenthetical Citation (In-text Citation)
– Works Cited page
Parenthetical Citation
• Information in the text of your essay that links
each borrowed quote or paraphrase to a
source listed on the Works Cited page
What to Include
• author’s last name
• page number (if available)
• Frame: clear indication of beginning and end
of quotation or paraphrase (usually through
an introduction and closing parentheses)
Author beginning; Page # End
As Hedges notes, “Women’s confinement to the
kitchen or to the private space of the home was a
major source of their isolation” (98).
Hedges points out that a significant cause of women’s
loneliness was that they were not allowed beyond the
kitchen and the privacy of the home (98).
Author, page # at End
One source indicates that “women’s confinement to
the kitchen or to the private space of the home was a
major source of their isolation” (Hedges 98).
According to one literary critic, a significant cause of
women’s loneliness was that they were not allowed
beyond the kitchen and the privacy of the home
(Hedges 98).
Block Quotations
• More than 4 lines in your essay
• Full-sentence introduction, generally followed
by colon
• Indent one inch (or two tabs)
• Omit quotation marks around entire quotation
Bendel-Simso insightfully questions the typical reader response to the
story:
Yet, why do we find him [John Wright] guilty? Why do we
readers take Minnie's point of view? When discussing “A Jury
of Her Peers” in a classroom setting, students are all glad that
Minnie gets off and that John Wright is dead. However, were
one to poll the students before reading the story, few would
suggest that killing a canary--the only "crime" that John Wright
committed--is a capital offense. (295)
Internal Quotations
• If your quotation already contains quotation
marks in the original source, change them to
single quotation marks.
• Bendel-Simso points out that most students
would not “suggest that killing a canary--the
only ‘crime’ that John Wright committed--is a
capital offense” (295).
Indirect Quotations
• Indirect Quotations—Used when you borrow a
quotation cited in your source
• According to Karen Stein, the female characters
understand that only other women can “help them
endure the loneliness and unceasing labor
required of them” (qtd. in Alkalay-Gut 1).
Parenthetical Citation for Short Stories
• Provide parenthetical citation for quotations and
paraphrases
• Include author and page number (if available)
• If necessary, clarify which character is speaking.
• If you quote dialogue that continues over more than one
paragraph, use the block quotation format, regardless of
the length of the quotation.
Quoting Dialogue Example
The final exchange between Desiree and Armand illustrates, finally,
Desiree's utter dependence on Armand:
He said nothing. "Shall I go, Armand?" she asked in tones
sharp with agonized suspense.
"Yes, go."
"Do you want me to go?"
"Yes, I want you to go." (Chopin)
Tragically, this exchange and the dependence it illustrates lead
directly to Desiree’s death, both emotionally and physically.