When writing research papers in the humanities, you will be required to document all the information you use in the format standardized by the Modern Language Association (MLA). Other fields may use a different standardized format. Always check with your professor or publisher concerning his or her preferred format. MLA documentation is commonly used for RHE 306 papers.
There is a new online resource available to writers called NoodleBib. NoodleBib helps writers generate works cited pages for MLA or APA style documentation and is brought to you by the UT Libraries and the UWC. Check out NoodleBib at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/noodlebib/index.html.
Parenthetical Citations within your Text:
Anything you include in a paper that is not your original idea must be properly cited. Failing to cite the source of something that is not your original idea is like taking credit for others’ work and in most cases is considered plagiarism. Support for an argument frequently comes from an outside source and must be cited within the text. In-text citations are enclosed in parentheses at the end of the sentence and include the author’s last name and page number, when available.
Short Quotations
If you quote a source without using the author’s name in the sentence, include the author’s last name and the page number enclosed in parentheses at the end of the quotation. If you do mention the author in the text, then you only need to include the page number (see examples below). Note that the parenthetical citation comes after the quotation mark and before the period.
Example:
I really admire Warren’s professionalism and meteoric rise on the Hollywood scene: “the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model has made five films in that last year (her very first in Hollywood)” (Griffin 57). I hope one day to emulate her prolific career.
Long Quotations
If you quote more than four lines of an author’s text, indent the quotation a half an inch (five spaces) and do not use quotation marks. This type of quotation is also referred to as a block quote. Note that the citation will come after the period in this case.
Example:
Warren’s professional attitude gives her the courage and the clout to keep directors honest, even without years of experience on a set:
For the forthcoming Jerry Bruckheimer comedy Down and Under, in which she plays a zoologist, Warren agreed to wade into a pond in the Australian outback wearing a bra and underpants, provided the tone of the scene was lighthearted and demure. But what she didn’t agree to was a scene that crept into the script after she signed on that had her hanging off a cliff . . . in her underwear. (Griffith 112)
Paraphrases
Commonly, you can paraphrase what an author says without quoting him or her word for word. If you summarize an author’s work in your own words or refer to a source using specific examples, you must cite the source in your text.
Examples:
• Griffith returns at the end of the article to emphasize and reiterate Warren’s desires to be a good actor (113).
• Warren’s early beginnings in a small town outside of Toronto underline her firm sense of family (Griffith 58).
• According to her interview with Warren, Griffith notes that the young star originally wasn’t suitable for runway model work because of her background as an Olympic athlete (59). This became an advantage in advertising and catalogue work, where Warren found niche with Chanel and Victoria’s Secret.
Note: If the source does not have an author, cite it using the next available piece of information (in most cases, the title, underlined for books or in quotation marks for articles), followed by the page number. If there is no page number, omit it.
Works Cited Page:
At the end of your paper, you must list every source you cited within the paper on your Works Cited page, a.k.a. bibliography. This enables the reader to check your sources at a library, on the internet, etc. Your Works Cited page should be double spaced.
Sources should be listed on your works cited page in alphabetical order by author’s last name. When listing sources on your works cited page, you generally need the following information about the source (in order of importance): author, title, publication information, date. If the source lacks any of the above, or if the information is unavailable, move on to the next item. For example, if a source does not have an author, then list it alphabetically starting with its title. If a citation takes up more than one line, subsequent lines are indented five spaces.
Basic Format for Books:
Author’s last, first name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, date.
Example:
Lowenthal, David. The Past is a Foreign Country. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
If the source has more than one author, reverse only the name of the first author, add a comma, and give the other name or names in normal form.
Example:
Eggins, Suzanne, and Diane Slade. Analysing Casual Conversation. London: Cassell, 1997.
Basic Format for Articles:
Author’s last, first name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical. Volume (date): page #.
Example:
McKenna, Bernard. “How Engineers Write.” Applied Linguistics. 18 (1997): 189- 211.
Basic Format for Websites:
The variety of Web pages is staggering, so you will have to adapt your documentation to particular sources. In general, include as much of the following information about the website as possible (in order): author, title of the source found on the website (if you are not citing the entire website), title of the website (underlined), date of electronic publication or recent update, date you accessed the site, the URL electronic address enclosed between two angle brackets (<>). Since most websites do not have page numbers, omit the page number from the in-text citation.
Examples:
“Drug Facts.” Office of National Drug Control Policy. 22 February 2002 www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/index.html.
Shafer, Jack. “The New Walter Cronkite.” Slate 18 Oct. 1996. 12 July 1998 slate.msn.com/Assessment/96-10-18/Assessment.asp.
Note: The above formats and examples are by no means exhaustive. For other types of sources not mentioned on this handout, or for any questions about MLA documentation, consult the Scott Foresman Handbook for Writers, or the MLA Web site at www.mla.org. For examples of bibliographic citations for various types of sources, see the “MLA Documentation Examples” handout.
MLA Documentation Examples
Paraphrasing