1. Workshop: MLA Format Researching and Citing Information

2. Writing a research report? Just looking for ideas or information? When you use anything—information, ideas, pictures, even music—from someone else (books, the internet, magazines, etc.) you need to give credit where credit is due. To do this we “cite” the information or insert a citation. A citation is a quotation or reference to a book, paper, or author and where it came from. To cite something means you give proof or give credit to the author.

3. Can I use someone else’s work? It is perfectly acceptable to quote the work of others and, in fact, it is essential that you do so. However, you must give credit to the author whose words or ideas you are using. Even of you restate it in your own words, you must credit that person. In any research paper, you will have used information from other sources, and it is essential to use in text citations and a works cited to accredit other researchers.

4. Okay, I need to give credit. How? As a writer, it is your responsibility to give proper credit to your sources (the original author). It is also very important that you give this credit in accordance with MLA style. If you fail to give proper credit to a source, you have committed plagiarism. If you have not given proper credit to your sources, you have committed plagiarism. Essentially, it is like you are lying to your reader. You have used someone else’s ideas without telling your reader where you took it from. Whether you have intentionally tried to pass off someone else’s ideas as your own or, through careless research, you unintentionally “forgot” to cite a source, the charge is plagiarism.

5. So what is MLA? The Modern Language Association (MLA) developed a guide for academic writing. Part of the guide deals with ways to give credit to authors for borrowed materials and information. Using MLA Style properly makes it easier for readers to understand what you have written and how you have used sources and borrowed information. Editors and instructors also encourage everyone to use the same format so there is consistency (the same information is in the same place for everyone) and readers can locate information of interest to them. MLA provides guidelines to properly give credit to an author. You must do two things— use a parenthetical (within the text) citation after the sentence and create a corresponding entry in a bibliography (called a “Works Cited” page).

6. What do I cite? Any idea or fact that is common knowledge does not need to be cited. For example, facts like the earth rotates around the sun or Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while in office are common knowledge and would not have to be cited. Basically, any idea, fact, or product that you received from somewhere or someone else needs to be cited in MLA format. If you used the exact words from the source (book, magazine, person, website, etc.), you need to put the words inside quotation marks then write the parenthetical citation. If you did not use the exact words, you do not need to put it inside quotation marks, but you still must give credit to the source with a parenthetical citation.

7. Parenthetical-what? Parenthetical citation is when a writer directly puts into the text a note from where he or she got the information. Parenthetical or “in-text” citation allows your reader to know from what source each idea/fact came. This is how it looks in the text of your paper: “In 2007, 37 percent of American adults sought medical information from the internet regarding a health problem they were experiencing before consulting a doctor” (Smith 38). In the example above, notice that the author’s name and the page number on which this fact was found are set off from the text within parenthesis. Note also that the punctuation of this parenthetical citation is also important. The reader would understand from this citation that on page 38 of Smith’s book, this fact is mentioned. Furthermore, since the words are contained within quotes, the above example illustrates that this is a direct quote from that page.

8. What if I put it in my own words? You still need to cite your information with a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence! Here is an example of the same idea presented as an indirect quote (put in your own words) : Instead of going to a doctor right away, a recent study found that 37 percent of Americans are now turning to the internet for medical information (Smith 38). In the example above, notice that the author’s name and the page number on which this fact was found are set off from the text within parenthesis. Note also that the punctuation of this parenthetical citation is also important. The reader would understand from this citation that on page 38 of Smith’s book, you could learn this information. Since the words are NOT contained within quotes, the above example illustrates that this is information you put into your own words from that page.

9. Remember the WORKS CITED!!! The works cited page tells readers where you have found the information you have used in your essay. You may have heard it called a bibliography. It is typically the last page in your research report. Guidelines for preparing the works cited list: Begin the works-cited list on a new page after the last page of your paper Center the heading Works Cited one inch from the top of the page; do not underline the heading or put it in quotations. Double space the list. List entries alphabetically according to the author’s last name. Alphabetize articles with no author according to the first major word of the title. Begin each entry flush with the left-hand margin. Indent all other lines five spaces. Example: Meyer, Herbert. “Why Americans Hate This ‘Immigration’ Debate.” Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. 11 th ed. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. New York: Bedford, 2010. 665-68. Print.

10. For citations, yes. However, you need to know that using MLA format also means you need to write your final draft using these MLA rules: For citations, yes. However, you need to know that using MLA format also means you need to write your final draft using these MLA rules: So is that it? Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard white paper. Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). The font size should be 12 pt. Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested. Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number. (Note: follow instructor guidelines.) In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters. Double space between the title and the first line of the text. Indent the first line of paragraphs.

11. Examples and help: The Purdue Online Reading Lab (OWL)—formatting, all questions MLA http://owl.english.purdue.edu/o wl/resource/747/01/ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/o wl/resource/747/01/ Easy Bib—helps write citations http://www.easybib.com/ Son of Citation Machine—helps write citations http://citationmachine.net/index2.p hp Sample research report 1 http://www.dianahacker.com/pdfs/h acker-daly-mla.pdf Sample research report 2 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ resource/747/13/