1. 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

2. First things first: What is a citation? A citation is a reference to a source used in a research project. 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. Kent, George. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Print.

3. 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.

4. Why you need to cite your sources 1.to find information 2.to show that you understand your topic 3.to avoid plagiarism There are three important reasons to cite your sources.

5. 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.

6. Why you need to cite your sources They also show that other people support what you’ve written about your topic. Citations show that your research was careful and thorough.

7. 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.

8. 1.At the end of your paper, add a Works Cited list. Use two ways to cite your sources. How to cite your sources 2.Within the paper, use parenthetical citations.

9. 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.

10. Kent, George. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Print. Author’s last name, Author’s first name. Book Title. City of publication: Publisher’s name, year of publication. Medium of publication. Works Cited list Books Here is the basic format for a book entry in a Works Cited list.

11. Periodicals are publications that are published regularly, or periodically, such as newspapers, magazines, and journals. Works Cited list Periodicals

12. Philipson, Robert. “The Harlem Renaissance As Postcolonial Phenomenon.” African American Review 1 Sept. 2006: 145-160. Print. Author’s last name, Author’s first name. “Article Title.” Magazine Name day Month year: page number(s). Medium of publication. Here’s the basic format for a magazine article entry for the Works Cited list. If the article isn’t printed on consecutive pages, give the first page and a plus sign. Works Cited list Periodicals

13. 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.

14. 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. Here’s the basic format for a Web site entry for the Works Cited list. Works Cited list Citing nonprint sources: Web site

15. 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.

16. Listing all your sources in the Works Cited list is an important part of your research paper. Parenthetical citations 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.

17. 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.

18. Kent, George. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Print. Gwendolyn wanted to write poems like the ones she heard her father recite when she was a little girl (Kent 1). 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. Readers can now find complete information about the source in your Works Cited list.

19. Parenthetical citations According to George Kent, Gwendolyn wanted to write poems like the ones she heard her father recite when she was a little girl (1). If the author’s name appears in the sentence, you need to cite only the page number(s) in parentheses. 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” the years of the Harlem Renaissance were the years 1917 to 1935. According to George Kent, Gwendolyn wanted to write poems like the ones she heard her father recite when she was a little girl (1). According to the Web page “Faces of the Renaissance,” the years of the Harlem Renaissance were the years 1917 to 1935.

20. Your Turn All the examples in this presentation can be found in the MLA Works Cited List Example, which is part of the Student Handouts for the MLA/APA Styles feature. The handouts Your Turn: Create MLA Source Citations and Your Turn: Create MLA Parenthetical Citations also provide opportunities to practice creating sources and parenthetical citations.

21. The End