Prepared from the 6 th edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers CITING USING THE MLA Style

At the end of this tutorial you will:- Be aware of the importance of citing the sources you have used Learn to cite according to the MLA style Learn how to cite a variety of sources Learn how to use the MLA manual WHAT WILL THIS TUTORIAL COVER?

Citing is giving credit to, or acknowledging all sources of information or ideas used in your papers. Citing sources should:- Point to the source from which you got the information in your essay. Direct your reader to the full documentation in the list of Works Cited. FACTS A QUOTE AN IDEA WHAT IS CITING ?

Citing or documenting information is responsible and ethical behaviour. Citing shows respect for other people’s ideas. If you don’t cite you are guilty of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person’s intellectual efforts. It is a form of cheating. The word “plagiarism” comes from the Greek root for “kidnap”. WHY CITE ?

WHY CITE? (cont’d) Citing is a service to those reading your paper, since it accurately points them to the exact location of the information you have used for your paper. Citing also meets the requirements of your Faculty and the University.

HOW TO CITE? To cite, you must choose an acceptable citation style. There are many authorized styles e.g. APA, Chicago, ACS. Use the one required by your Lecturer or your Faculty. MLA* is one of the most widely used styles. It is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Check the Library’s OPAC to find the Handbook *Modern Language Association

CITING USING MLA There are 2 aspects to citing with MLA:- (i)In text citing (citing within the text or body of your essay or paper) (ii)List of Works Cited (at the end of your paper)

AGREEMENT OF IN TEXT CITATIONS WITH LIST OF WORKS CITED References cited in the text must appear in the Works Cited. Conversely each entry in the Works Cited must be cited in the text.

CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT Basic information to be included:- Author’s surname and page e.g. (Tannen 178) OR Title of work (if no author is named) and page e.g. (Love and War 21) *NB Do not include ‘p’ or ‘pp’ before page numbers. –

There is a direct relationship between what you put in the text and what you put in parentheses. NOTE WELL CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT (cont’d)

It may be true, as Robertson maintains, that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of primary importance…”(136). If you put the author’s name in the text, do not repeat it in parentheses. For example…

It may be true that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of primary importance….” (Robertson 136). If you do not put the author’s name in the text, you must include it with the page number in parentheses. For example… CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT (cont’d)

Citing works listed by title only… International espionage was as prevalent as ever as in the 1990s (“Decade”). * NB “Decade” is the shortened title for “The Decade of the Spy”. Put full details in list of Works Cited.

CITING SOURCES IN THE TEXT (cont’d In text citations must direct the reader to the full documentation in the list of Works Cited. In the text of your paper Despite American birth, Powell was raised in Jamaican extended family of real and fictive relatives (Roth 33 ). Works Cited Roth, David. Sacred Honor: A Biography of Colin Powell. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,

THE LIST OF Works Cited Contains all the sources that you cited in your paper. Comes at the end of your paper. Lists all sources cited in one alphabetical sequence. Includes information from the source itself (e.g. the title page of a book) not from a catalogue.

WORKS CITED A BOOK BY A SINGLE AUTHOR Author’s name. Title of the book. Publication information. Example: Smith, M.G. Pluralism, Politics and Ideology in the Creole Caribbean. New York: Research Institute for the Study of Man, N.B. Capitalize the first letter of the first word in the title and subtitle, and the first letter of every word in the title except for a, an, the, and, to, … (see MLA page 103 for full list)

WORKS CITED A BOOK BY A SINGLE AUTHOR Author’s name. Title of the book. Publication information. Example: Smith, M.G. Pluralism, Politics and Ideology in the Creole Caribbean. New York: Research Institute for the Study of Man, N.B. Capitalize the first letter of the first word in the title and subtitle, and the first letter of every word in the title except for a, an, the, and, to, … (see MLA page 103 for full list)

WORKS CITED A WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY An anthology is a collection of works (e.g. chapters, essays, poems, stories) by various authors, in a single volume. Author’s name (surname first). “Title of chapter/essay, etc.” Title of the book Editor (surname last). Publication information. Pages of chapter/essay, etc. Example: More, Hannah. “The Black Slave Trade: A Poem.” British Women Poets of the Romantic Era. Ed. Paula R. Feldman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP,

PAGE NUMBERS NB. MLA requires that you paginate as efficiently as possible. Therefore, if you are referring to an item that runs from pages , use More, Hannah. “The Black Slave Trade: A Poem.” British Women Poets of the Romantic Era. Ed. Paula R. Feldman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP,

WORKS CITED ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS Periodicals include journals, newspapers and magazines. Author’s name. “Title of Article.” Source. Source = Title of periodical, volume and issue numbers, pages of the article. If pages continue from one issue to the next, put the volume number only. Example: Chan, Anita, and Robert J. S. Ross. “Racing to the Bottom: International Trade Without a Social Cause.” Third World Quarterly 24 (2003): *NB. For works with more than one author, invert only the 1 st author’s name.

WORKS CITED ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS But, if a journal pages each issue separately, you must add the issue number to identify the source. Example: Cooper, Carolyn. “Race and Cultural Politics of Self- Representation: A View from the University of the West Indies.” Research in African Literatures 27.4 (1996):

WORKS CITED AN ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER Give the name as it appears on the masthead but omit any introductory article (i.e. Daily Express, not The Daily Express). Next, give the complete date [day, month and year]. Abbreviate all months except May, June and July. Include section letter (where relevant) and page numbers.

AN ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER (cont’d) EXAMPLES Singh, Rickey. “New row over Aristide.” Trinidad Express 17 June 2005: 12. Newspaper editorial (no author given): “US-Libya Conflict.” Editorial. Guardian 9 Jan. 1998: 8. Article in a section of the newspaper (e.g. section A, page 3): Bailey, Mary. “Teachers to Tackle Violence in Schools.” Sunday Express 1 Sept. 1996: A3. Article not on consecutive pages (e.g. starting on pg. G1 and continuing on pg. G3): Harris, Nicole. “Airports in the Throes of Change.” Washington Post 21 Apr. 2002: G1+.

WORKS CITED AN ARTICLE IN A REFERENCE BOOK For a dictionary entry or an encyclopedia article do not cite the editor of the reference work. If the author of the article is given, put the name first; if it is not given, put the title in quotation marks. EXAMPLES: “Piracy.” The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed Borjas, G. J. “Migration, Economics of.” International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. 1st ed “Creole.” The Concise Oxford Dictionary. 10th ed

WORKS CITED AN INTERVIEW An interview may be published, recorded or broadcast. Examples Smith, John. Interview with Jane Clarke. Breakfast Club FM. Port of Spain, Trinidad. 26 Mar Walcott, Derek. “Derek Walcott interviewed by Dirk Sinnewe.” Journal of Commonwealth Literature (1999):1-8.

WORKS CITED A PERSONAL INTERVIEW To cite an interview you conducted:- Give the name of the person interviewed The type of interview (e.g. Personal interview, Telephone interview) The date Examples: Smith, John. Personal interview. 22 July Jones, Alice. Telephone interview. 10 Oct

WORKS CITED ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS Electronic publications are not as stable as their print counterparts. Therefore, these citations should provide more information than print citations. Dates A citation for an online should contain 2 dates the date it was published or last updated. the date on which you accessed the document. Uniform Resource Locator (URL) Web address or URL

ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS (cont’d) An article from the Internet Shah, Anup. “Sustainable Development” 21 April 2003 Global Issues 20 Feb < Development.asp>. Website URL of Article Date accessed Date updated

ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS (cont’d) EXAMPLES An article from a Library Subscription Database e.g. EbscoHost “Cooling Trend in Antarctica.” Futurist May-June 2002:15. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of West Indies, Main Lib. 3 May An article in a scholarly online journal Denning, Peter J. “ Business Designs for the New University.” Educom Review 31.6 (1996). 23 June 2004.

EXAMPLE OF WORKS CITED LIST Notice that the list is in one alphabetical sequence… Abersold Clarke “Cooling…”

REMEMBER… o You have just been introduced to sections of the MLA style. o For citing other types of resources and exceptions to the general rules check the MLA Handbook, Brief Holt Handbook or Keys for Writers. o Visit MLA’s website for tips. Click on this link: o There are other styles available e.g. Chicago, APA, ACS (Check your faculty requirements) o Use the style requested by your tutors. o Be consistent. o You will not retain everything, so use the style Manual.

THE END COMPILED BY Sharida Hosein Main Library © December 2005