MLA Style A Guide to Citing Sources First things first: What is a citation? MLA citation style Why you need to cite your sources How to cite your sources Works Cited list Parenthetical citations
First things first: What is a citation? A citation is a reference to a source used in a research project. Kent, George. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Print. Whenever you use another person s ideas or words in a research paper, you must cite, or give credit, to that person. That s called citing your source.
MLA citation style Citations must be accurate and standard so that anyone who reads your research can easily find the information you used. MLA style is a standard way of citing sources. This means each source you use should be formatted in a specific way. MLA style was developed by the Modern Language Association.
Why you need to cite your sources There are three important reasons to cite your sources. 1. to find information 2. to show that you understand your topic 3. to avoid plagiarism
Why you need to cite your sources Citations help you remember where you got your information. You can return to a source for more information or to clarify facts. Citations help your readers locate information when they want to do more research.
Why you need to cite your sources Citations show that your research was careful and thorough. They also show that other people support what you ve written about your topic.
Why you need to cite your sources Citations give credit to people whose ideas you use. Plagiarism is using someone else s ideas or knowledge without giving that person credit. Avoid plagiarism by giving people credit for their ideas and their words.
How to cite your sources Use two ways to cite your sources. 1. At the end of your paper, add a Works Cited list. 2. Within the paper, use parenthetical citations.
How to cite your sources A Works Cited list is a list of all the sources you used in your research paper. Here are some entries for part of a Works Cited list. Kent, George. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Print. Philipson, Robert. The Harlem Renaissance As Postcolonial Phenomenon. African American Review 1 Sept. 2006: 145-160. Print.
Works Cited list Books Here is the basic format for a book entry in a Works Cited list. Author s last name, Author s first name. Book Title. City of publication: Publisher s name, year of publication. Medium of publication. Kent, George. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Print.
Works Cited list Periodicals Periodicals are publications that are published regularly, or periodically, such as newspapers, magazines, and journals.
Works Cited list Periodicals Here s the basic format for a magazine article entry for the Works Cited list. Author s last name, Author s first name. Article Title. Magazine Name day Month year: page number(s). Medium of publication. Philipson, Robert. The Harlem Renaissance As Postcolonial Phenomenon. African American Review 1 Sept. 2006: 145-160. Print. If the article isn t printed on consecutive pages, give the first page and a plus sign.
Works Cited list Citing nonprint sources There are many other kinds of sources besides books and magazines. You might use TV programs, DVDs, CDs, or Web sites. Web sites can be very useful as source material, but you must cite them properly.
Works Cited list Citing nonprint sources: Web site Here s the basic format for a Web site entry for the Works Cited list. Author s last name, Author s first name (if known). Document Title. Title of Web Site. Name of Sponsoring Institution. day Month year of publication (or last update). Medium of Publication. day Month year of access. Faces of the Renaissance. Drop Me Off in Harlem. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 20 March 2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2008.
Works Cited list Sources are put in the Works Cited list in alphabetical order, double-spaced, and indented one-half inch. Here is an excerpt from a final Works Cited list. Works Cited Kent, George. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Print. Philipson, Robert. The Harlem Renaissance As Postcolonial Phenomenon. African American Review 1 Sept. 2006: 145-160. Print.
Parenthetical citations Listing all your sources in the Works Cited list is an important part of your research paper. In the body of your paper, you also need to tell exactly where you found any information that came from other sources. You do that using a parenthetical citation.
Parenthetical citations A parenthetical citation appears in the body of your paper wherever you use another person s ideas, facts, or words. A parenthetical citation always refers to a source in your Works Cited list.
Parenthetical citations To create a parenthetical citation, give the author s last name and the page number(s) from the source. Put this information in parentheses at the end of the sentence, before the final punctuation. Gwendolyn wanted to write poems like the ones she heard her father recite when she was a little girl (Kent 1). Readers can now find complete information about the source in your Works Cited list. Kent, George. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Print.
Parenthetical citations If the author s name appears in the sentence, you need to cite only the page number(s) in parentheses. According to George Kent, Gwendolyn wanted to write poems like the ones she heard her father recite when she was a little girl (1). For sources without page numbers, like most Web sites, you should include the author s name or the title of the source within the text instead of using parentheses. According to the Web page Faces of the Renaissance Renaissance, the years of of the Harlem Renaissance were the years 1917 to 1935.
The End