Using the MLA Style to Cite
Sources
RHET 201
SPR 2011
Gironda
MLA Style
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is
most commonly used to write papers and cite
sources within the liberal arts and humanities.
Resources for using MLA style
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Handbooks are available in the bookstore
and in the library.
Good MLA style guides are available online:
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The Purdue Online Writing lab:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01
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Links are also available on the class blog.
Academic writing is a
conversation
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We cite sources:
1. Out of respect for the
other conversants.
2. So that our readers
can easily “visit” the
other conversants and
find out more about the
topic, if they are
interested.
3 main steps to integrating
and outside sources
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1. Correctly and effectively quoting,
paraphrasing or summarizing.
2. Giving a a parenthetical citation so
that the reader knows where to look for
the full citation.
3. Creating a Works Cited list.
Each must be attributed to the
original source.
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Quotations must be identical to the
original, using a narrow segment of the
source.
Paraphrasing involves putting a passage
from source material into your own
words.
Summarizing involves putting the main
idea(s) into your own words, including
only the main point(s).
Why use Quotations,
Paraphrase and Summaries?
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To provide support for your claims or
add credibility to your writing
Refer to work that provides background
or context for your research or
argument
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Give examples of several points of view
on a subject
Why use quotations,
paraphrases and summaries?
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Call attention to a position or argument
with which you agree or disagree
Compare two similar or contrasting
approaches to a subject matter
Highlight a particularly striking phrase,
sentence, or passage by quoting the
original.
A paraphrase is...
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Your own rendition of essential
information and ideas expressed by
someone else, presented in a new form.
One legitimate way (when accompanied
by accurate documentation) to borrow
from a source.
Paraphrasing is a valuable
skill because...
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It is better than quoting information
from an undistinguished passage.
It helps you control the temptation to
quote too much.
The mental process required for
successful paraphrasing helps you to
grasp the full meaning of the original.
Steps to Effective
Paraphrasing
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1.Reread the original passage until
you understand its full meaning.
2.Set the original aside, and write
your paraphrase on a note card.
Steps to Effective
Paraphrasing
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3. Check your rendition with the original
to make sure that your version
accurately expresses all the essential
information in a new form.
4. Use quotation marks to identify any
unique term or phraseology you have
borrowed exactly from the source.
Make note of the source, page number
etc. for writing your citation.
When to quote
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When the author of your source material
turns a phrase, sentence, or passage of
particularly powerful,vivid, or memorable
language.
When the language in your source material is
so clear and economical that to attempt a
paraphrase would be ineffective.
When you want to lend the authority and
credibility of experts or prominent figures to
your writing
Correctly integrating quotes
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The first time you refer to a source, you
should make reference to it’s author’s
whole name, if you use their name at all
in the text.
In subsequent references, you may just
use the last name.
Correctly integrating quotes
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There is seldom a case where you would use
a quote in your paper without introducing it.
For example:
“Recent research suggests, “Blah, blah,
blah…”
In her recent book,The Seven Pillars of
Identity, researcher Milad Hanna asserts, “
Blah, blah, blah…”
More examples
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In the words of sports writer Karim Alsherif…
“Blah, Blah, blah.”
As Dina Abdel-Mageed has noted, “Blah…”
The Mansours, experts in Middle Eastern
archaeology, point out that, “ Blah, blah…”
Psychologist Lisa Morphopoulos offers an
odd argument for this theory: “Blah, blah…”
Basic in text citation rules
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In MLA style, referring to the works of
others in your text is done by using
what's known as parenthetical citation.
Immediately following a quotation from
a source or a paraphrase of a source's
ideas, you place the author's name
followed by a space and the relevant
page number(s).
Parenthetical citation format
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Human beings have been described as
"symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).
In the works cited page
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Your in-text citation will correspond with
an entry in your Works Cited page,
which, for the Burke citation above, will
look something like this:
Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic
Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and
Method. Berkeley: U of California P,
1966.
For works with no author:
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When a source has no known author,
use a shortened title of the work instead
of an author name. Place the title in
quotation marks if it's a short work, or
italicize or underline it if it's a longer
work.
Multiple Citations
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To cite multiple sources in the same
parenthetical reference, separate the
citations by a semi-colon:
...as has been discussed elsewhere
(Burke 3; Dewey 21).
Citing a book
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Okuda, Michael. Star Trek
Chronology: The History of the
Future. New York: Pocket, 1993.
Citing an article.
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Di Rado, Alicia. "Trekking through
College: Classes Explore Modern
Society Using the World of Star
Trek." Los Angeles Times 15
Mar. 1995: A3.
Citation Guides & Exercises
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Paraphrasing exercises:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/
28/12/33/