CITING SOURCES
MLA STYLE
Why Cite Sources?
 To avoid plagiarism
 To credit the source with the original idea
or information
 To lend credibility and authority to a thesis
 To back up ideas with credible illustrations,
known facts, and accepted statistics
Plagiarism
 Plagiarism is a crime – it is the the theft of
someone’s else’s words, ideas, or research.
 If you commit plagiarism, you can fail a
course, be expelled from college, lose your
job.
 The easiest route to plagiarism today is
cutting and pasting from the internet.
Avoid Plagiarism
 Introduce any material you have borrowed from
another source with a signal phrase that mentions
the author (or if there is no author, the title ) of
the source.
 Put in quotation marks, any phrase or sentence(s)
you have borrowed from the source.
 If the quotation is longer than 3 lines, indent the
quoted words.
 ANY PHRASES OR SENTENCES QUOTED
EXACTLY AND NOT IN QUOTATION
MARKS OR INDENTED ARE PLAGIARIZED.
Help is Here
 If you are confused about what
plagiarism is or how to cite sources,
please make an appointment with me to
clarify any issues you might have.
 If this is a last minute issue, email me,
and I will try to respond promptly.
Internal Documentation
Citing Sources in the
Text of an Essay
What Needs To Be Cited?
 Quotations
 Paraphrased ideas
 Summarized information
 Facts
 Statistics
 Studies
 When in doubt, acknowledge the source of
the information
Ways To Cite Sources Include:
Quotation
Paraphrase
Summary
Parenthetical Citation
 The parenthetical citation must match the
first word of the Works Cited citation -usually the author’s last name -- and must
include the page number of the quote, if
taken from a paginated text: (Bragg 123).
Bragg, Rick. “Country Club Meets the Enemy: Country
Music and Pigs.” 1999. Rpt. Somebody Told Me: The
Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg. Tuscaloosa: U of
Alabama P, 2000. 123-25.
In-text reference
 an in-text reference to show that a piece of
information, idea, quotation, etc. you have
included in your writing belongs to another
writer. It is always designed to be short because
it is interrupting the text, and is usually in
parentheses:

In recent years, there has been a rapid
increase in car sales in Thailand (Honda 1995).
OR

In recent years, there has been a rapid
increase in car sales in Thailand (Honda, 1995).
OR
 In recent years there has been a rapid increase
in car sales in Thailand [1].
Remember...
 The parenthetical citation must match the
first word of the Works Cited citation,
usually the author’s last name, and include a
page reference or a year
 Quotes repeat the author’s exact words.
 Paraphrases restate the author’s words in
the writer’s own words.
 Summaries abbreviate the author’s words.
Reference List
Overall Format
 The title -- Works Cited -- is centered at the top of
the page. It is not underlined, italicized or quoted.
It should be the same font size as the rest of the
citations.
 The citation list is double-spaced throughout.
 The citation list is alphabetized.
 If there is no author, the citation begins with the title
of the work – quoted if an article or poem,
underlined or italicized if a book.
 The first line of each citation is at the margin;
subsequent lines should be indented about ten
spaces.
Sample Citations:
MLA FORMAT
A Book
author
title of book
Bragg, Rick. Somebody Told Me: The
subtitle of book
city of publication
Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg. Tuscaloosa:
publisher
year of publication
U of Alabama P, 2000.
Chapter in a Book
author
title of chapter
Bragg, Rick. “Country Club Meets the Enemy:
original publication date reprint
Country Music and Pigs.” 1999. Rpt. Somebody
title of book
subtitle of book
Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg.
city
publisher
year of publication
Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2000. 123-25.
inclusive chapter pages
Article in a Multi-Volume
Reference Work
author
title of work
Larkin, Joan. "Frontiers of Language: Three Poets."
excerpted
title of article title of reference work
1974. Exc. in "Audre Lord.” Contemporary
original date
volume
editor
Literary Criticism. Vol. 18. Ed. Sharon R.
city
publisher
year of publication
Gunton. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. 307-08.
inclusive pages of work
Article in a Journal
author
title of article
name of journal
Maxwell, Bill. “Angry Young Man.” Forum:
The Magazine of the Florida Humanities Council.
volume number
date
inclusive pages of article
XXII.2 (Summer 1999): 8-17.
Article in a Journal found in an
Online Database
author
title of article
Eder, Richard, "The Greatest Woman Poet Since
name of journal
Sappho." Los Angeles Times Book Review
date
pages
publisher
database
18 Mar. 1990. 3+. Galenet: Literature
provider date accessed
Resource Center. LINCC. 10 Jan. 2004.
Article found on an
Internet Site
author
title of webpage date posted
Lu Yanguang. "Madame Li." 1997.
name of website
Asia Pac: 100 Celebrated Chinese Women.
translator
date accessed
Trans. Kate Foster. 10 Feb. 2000
URL: web address
< http://www.span.com.au/100women/18.html > .
Work in an Anthology
author
original publication date
title of work
title of book
Whitman, Walt. “Osceola.” 1892. Florida in Poetry:.
subtitle of book
editors
A History of the Imagination. Eds. Jane Anderson
city
Jones and Maurice O’Sullivan. Sarasota:
publisher
year of publication
Pineapple Press, 1995. 30-31.
inclusive pages of work
Bibliography
Bragg, Rick. “Country Club Meets the Enemy: Country Music and
Pigs.” 1999. Rpt. Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories
of Rick Bragg. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2000. 123-25.
______. Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg.
Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2000.
Eder, Richard, "The Greatest Woman Poet Since Sappho." Los Angeles
Times Book Review 18 Mar. 1990. 3+. Galenet: Literature
Resource Center. LINCC. 10 Jan. 2004.
Using Numerical References
 In some fields of study, the preferred style
is to number references in the text rather
than cite the author’s name. If the number
style is used, the references are listed in
numerical order, not in alphabetic order.
In the text:

Anecdotes intended to associate
individual radar operators’ actual health
problems with their use of radar equipment
have appeared in the literature [1,2]. These
concerns have led some law enforcement
agencies to suspend the use of radar [2].
In the list of references
Appendices
 Appendices follow the list of references.
Number or letter appendices and give each a
title as if it were a chapter.
 Example:
 Appendix 1: Questionnaire
 Appendix 2: BOI Regulations
 Appendix A: Derivation of Equations
Research and
the Internet
Research and the Internet
 The Internet can be a
great tool for research,
but finding quality
web materials and
using them to your
advantage in your
writing can be
challenging.
Why do we need to evaluate web
sources?
 Virtually any person can
publish almost anything on
the Internet.
 Unlike most print sources,
web sources do not have to
be professionally accepted
and edited to be published.
Purdue University Writing Lab
Researching the Internet
 Use search engines to your
advantage
 Identify the web site
 Examine for credibility
 Determine depth and scope
of information
 Assess date of information
Types of web pages
 Informative pages
 Personal web pages
 Political/interest group
pages
 Marketing-oriented or
“infomercial” pages
 Entertainment pages
Purdue University Writing Lab
What is a search engine?
 A search engine is
an Internet tool
that locates web
pages and sorts
them according to
specified
keywords.
Types of search engines
 Yahoo and Alta Vista are the most
useful search engines for beginning
searches.
 Google, Northern Light, and Snap
access the greatest percentage of the
World Wide Web--only around 1516%.
 Dogpile will search through several
search engines at once.
 A collection of search engine links is
available at the OWL web site:
owl.english.purdue.edu
Use search engines
to your advantage
 Search engines can help
you to identify sources
that will provide serious
information, products or
services, or entertainment.
Purdue University Writing Lab
Use search engines to your
advantage
 Pick the right search engine for
your research needs.
Yahoo and AltaVista will help you to
distinguish between different
categories of web sites.
Hotbot, however, locates information
based upon the popularity of the site.
 Refine your search whenever
possible.
Purdue University
Writing Lab
Limit your keyword search
 It is a good idea to read
the directions for each
search engine to get the
most out of your
search.
 Use words like AND
and OR to limit your
search and get more
specified information.
Identify the web site
 Assess the authorship, content,
and purpose of the web site.
 This is important because
many web sources are not
checked for accuracy.
some personal sites are used to
express individual opinions about
issues, but not necessarily the
facts.
Purdue University Writing Lab
Identify the web site
 Sometimes the actual purpose
of the web site may not be
clearly articulated.
 Can be difficult to separate
advertising from accurate
information.
 Some marketing sites will offer
misleading information in
attempts to sell their products.
Purdue University Writing Lab
Identify the web site
 Whenever possible, try to
locate the home page.
 You can often do this by
eliminating some
information from the end
of the URL.
.org.gov
.com
.edu
.au
.net
.us
.uk
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Identify the web site
 Who is the creator of the
site?
 What is the purpose of
the site?
 Who is the audience of
this site?
 Can you purchase
products at this site?
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 Is the site affiliated
with a business or
university?
 Does the site offer
idiosyncratic
information about a
particular person or
group?
Examine for credibility
 Credibility may be
compromised by purposeful
misinformation or by
unintentional neglect.
 Locating the name of the
site’s creator may be
challenging.
 Credentials may be missing
even if the author’s name is
provided.
Purdue University Writing Lab
Examine for credibility
 Who is the author of the site?
 What is the authority or expertise of the
individual or group?
 What else comes up when you type the
author’s name into a search engine?
 Does the source have a political or business
agenda?
 Is the site sponsored by a political or
business group? If so, what can you find out
about that group?
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Examine for credibility
 Does the site provide a list of
sources or a Works Cited
page?
 Can you locate any of the
source material? How reliable
is this material?
 Are there links to other
credible sites with additional
information?
 Does the site provide a link for
emailing the author or
webmaster?
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Determine depth and
scope of information
 Does the material show signs of research, such as
references to other sources, hyperlinks, footnotes,
or a reference page?
 Does the author consider opposing points of view?
 How closely does the site really match the
information for which you are searching?
 Corroborate information whenever possible!
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Writing Lab
Determine depth and
scope of information
Are there a lot of flashy pictures, colors,
animated images, and logos designed
to attract attention? Do these eyecatching images distract you from
noticing a lack of credible information?
Do they disguise an attempt to get you
to buy something?
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Writing Lab
Determine depth and
scope of information
 Different from print sources:
Information covered on web pages is often
presented for easy digestion and visual
appeal.
Information may not provide sufficient
depth or scope.
Material may be affected by marketing or
political bias.
 Sometimes web sources may not be the right
sources for the information you need.
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Assess date of information
 Can you locate a date on the web
page?
 Dates on web pages can mean:
Date the author first wrote or
developed the material
Date site was first available on the
Internet for public access
Date site was most recently
updated, including revisions,
additions, or subtractions to the
material
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Assess date of information
 Does the site clearly state a date of
creation or a date for the most
recent update?
 More importantly, does the
information cover recent changes
or advances in the field or topic
you are researching?
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