MLA BIBLIOGRAPHY: How to Create a Works Cited Page by Ginger Lejeune

WHY DO WE NEED TO CITE SOURCES?  To be honest and ethical  To recognize intellectual property  To avoid plagiarism  To avoid academic censure

WHAT NEEDS TO BE CITED? Quotation = exact copy of author’s words with same capitalization, punctuation, etc. Paraphrase = Author’s idea put in your own words, approximately same length. Borrowed idea = much shorter summary of author’s original idea.

WHAT DOES NOT NEED TO BE CITED? FACTS that can be verified in 3 sources or information that is common knowledge or simply common sense. Examples of facts:  Birth & death dates & places  Locations of landmarks  Plant and animal kingdoms If in doubt, cite it!

WHAT IS A WORKS CITED PAGE?  Any research assignment should be accompanied by a bibliography listing your sources  English classes use the MLA (Modern Language Association) format for citing sources  Keep track of the information you need for your bibliography as you do your research; it’s much harder to go back later & find the information

RULES FOR YOUR MLA BIBLIOGRAPHY  Title is Works Cited  List sources in alphabetical order by first word – books & websites mixed together  First word = Author’s last name or Title (if there is no author)

MORE RULES FOR YOUR MLA WORKS CITED PAGE  Use a Hanging Indent = Second+ lines are indented 5 spaces  Double space the entire Works Cited list  Do not number entries The next slide is an example of a Works Cited page.

Works Cited “Anne Bradstreet.” Academy of American Poets Web. 3 Oct Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: Modern Language Association of America, Print. “Researching and Documenting Sources.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. Updated: Web. 10 Oct Sewell, Richard H. “The Republicans and John Brown.” The Complete History of American Slavery, Ed. James Miller. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Print. " To My Dear and Loving Husband." Poetry for Students, Vol. 6. Farmington Hills, MI: Print. Young, Elizabeth V. "Anne Bradstreet: Overview" in Feminist Writers, Ed. Pamela Kester- Shelton, St. James Press, Gale Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 Oct