MLA Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Citing Sources
Paraphrase & Summary SUMMARY: an abbreviated & simplified version of another author s info/ideas. Should be significantly shorter than the original text. Best used for simplifying complicated concepts PARAPHRASE: putting another author s ideas into your own words. Should be about the same length (or even longer) than the original text. Best used for explaining facts, or for discussing/ dissecting another author s ideas without piling on too many direct quotes
BEST USED FOR: DIRECT QUOTES Illustrating a point about the text: Twain s tongue-in-cheek tone is especially clear when he says, If I had begun [lying] earlier, I could have learned how (551). Providing an example of a certain position: Some scholars, such as Emmett Brown, believe that the future is yet to be determined.... Or when an author says something so perfectly that you can t paraphrase it without losing some of the original meaning.
Integrating Direct Quotes Direct quotes should be integrated, or embedded, into your sentences. Avoid floating quotes (quotes that have no lead-in and are not part of a sentence): WRONG: Orwell then took his gun to shoot the elephant, though he didn t want to. I knew I ought not to shoot the elephant (Orwell 734). RIGHT: Orwell then took his gun to shoot the elephant, even though he knew [he] ought not to shoot the elephant (734). If you need to alter the wording of a quote slightly to fit the syntax of your sentence, use [brackets] to indicate the change. (See quote above) If you need to omit an irrelevant part of the quote, use an ellipsis ( ) to indicate the omission.
BLOCK QUOTES When your quote is longer than four lines on the page, it s customary to make it a block quote. Start typing it on a new line, and make sure you indent the entire quote, not just the first line. You still need to lead into it, just like any other quote. For example, Hughes says, This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. This is a really long quote. (Hughes 984) Then you just continue where you left off, talking about the quote and what it means and stuff. Notice that you do not need to put any quotation marks around block quotes, and the period comes before the parentheses instead of after, like it usually does.
Paraphrasing vs. Plagiarism Just because you rearrange some phrases and use a thesaurus on a few key words, does not mean that you have paraphrased correctly. If a large percentage of the original quote closely resembles your own writing, then that s plagiarism even if it s not exactly the same. NOTE: simply citing it doesn t make it okay: either put it in your own words, or put quotation marks around it and quote the author directly. And in both cases, you still have to cite it. A true paraphrase explains the author s concepts completely in your own words requires understanding of the author s meaning, and sometimes explains things that aren t directly stated in the original quote. Even with a good paraphrase, you still need to cite the source. If you didn t think of it yourself, you must cite it.
CITING SOURCES Involves 2 parts: the WORKS CITED PAGE and the IN-TEXT CITATIONS. WORKS CITED PAGE = a list of all sources you used in your paper, including all the info necessary for your reader to track them down on their own IN-TEXT CITATIONS or parenthetical citations are the parentheses that you put at the end of a quote or paraphrase e.g. (Hawking 786). In-text citations always point back to one of the sources on your Works Cited page, telling the reader which source the quote is from and also what page or line it s from, if possible.
Why do we cite our sources? To give credit to another author for their information and/or their ideas. Especially their ideas! To prove to your reader that you aren t making up random facts & that you ve done your homework on your topic. Very important in argumentative papers To give the reader enough information that they can look up the original sources themselves, if they want to know more. Very important in research papers
So when should you cite your sources? Whenever you write about facts or ideas that you didn t pull straight out of your own head Common knowledge doesn t need to be cited though what counts as common knowledge might change depending on your audience & topic When you are relying on facts that aren t commonly known and might be disputed Proves you aren t making it up; reader doesn t have to take your word for it, they can look it up When you are summarizing something complicated, and your reader might want to find out more on their own
In-Text Citations In MLA format, when you cite your sources, you always write the citation in parentheses right after the quote or paraphrase. All end punctuation (periods or commas) goes after the parentheses. After his experience, he couldn t bear to tell her that [he] had lied (Hughes 1060). WHAT DO YOU PUT IN THE PARENTHESES? Whatever comes first on the Works Cited entry!!! Helps reader easily know what source you are referring to Usually author; if no author listed, then title of source. Page numbers, if relevant Additional information if necessary to avoid confusion For example, if you have 2 sources by the same author, then you put the author s name and also the title of the source
WORKS CITED PAGE What s the point? Exists as a guide so that your readers could look up your sources and read them for themselves, if they wanted to. Any work you cite in the paper should be on this page. Any work you don t cite should not be on this page. Because it s a works cited page, doy. SHOULD BE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER Easier for the reader to find the source they want All entries should begin with the same word(s) used in the in-text citations. (Makes it easier to look up the sources) Author s last name or title, usually.
What do you need to include on a Works Cited entry? The rules are always changing, but the basic concepts remain the same: you want to give the reader enough information that they could look up the source on their own. MLA core elements: Author Title of source Title of container Other contributors Volume/edition, Publisher, Date, & other info
For a work from the Norton Reader Last, First. Title of the Essay. Norton Reader, 13 th ed. Eds. Linda Peterson, et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2012. ##-##. Print. NOTE: Every line other than the first line should be indented. It s easiest to use the rulers at the top of the screen to create the inverted indent. ALSO NOTE: short works (essays, poems, speeches, etc.) go in quotes only. Longer works (books) go in italics only. Never use both quotes and italics for anything. For works not from the Norton Reader, I d recommend the Purdue Owl website s MLA guide.
IT S A QUIZ NOW, WHEE! Look up answers on the Purdue Owl MLA Guide Write all answers on separate sheet of paper turn in to me when finished