More on Integrating Sources MLA Style

Some review Whether quoting, summarizing or paraphrasing, the best way to start is with a signal phrase. Let the reader know where the borrowing has begun. Every time you borrow from a source, you need to indicate which source you have borrowed from. The reader should clearly be able to tell which source was used.

More review Using both primary and secondary sources throughout the essay helps to support your assertions. Think about “backing up” what you said with some primary and secondary sources “proving it.” The best proof would come from at least two different sources.

Integrating sources Author: Joan Smith Title “Chopin’s Wild Women” Journal or Magazine: Feminist Review (Your words) Most of Chopin’s characters who try to be independent end up paying for it with unhappy endings: “the search for individuality almost always culminates in tragedy” (Smith 78).

Integrating sources – No author If no author is available with the article, then use the article title or a shortened version of the article title in the parenthetical reference tragedy” (“Chopin’s Wild Women” 78). When the reader would refer to the Works Cited page, the author title would be the first thing he/she sees.

Integrating sources If there is no author or title, use the title of the journal, magazine or book tragedy” (Feminist Review 78). The title of the journal or magazine would be the first thing the reader would see on the Works Cited page.

Integrating sources – Two works by the same author. Differentiate the sources by using both the author’s name and the title of the article tragedy” (Smith, “Chopin’s Wild” 78). OR Joan Smith claims, “ tragedy” (“Chopin’s Wild Women” 78). The reader would see both sources written by Smith on the Works Cited page, but the reader would clearly be able to tell which source you are referring to.

Integrating sources — Sources from an anthology Use the author of the information, not the editor of the anthology in the citation. Example: Through words and action, O’Connor writes that she has to make sure a “meaningless rite” like baptism “carries enough awe and mystery to jar the reader into some kind of emotional recognition of its significance” (O’Connor, “Novelist and Believer” 439).

Integrating quotations – Indirect source When a wirter or speaker’s quoted words appear in a source written by someone else, begin the citation with the abbreviation “qtd. in.” “When lion sightings become common,” says Fjelline, “trouble often follows” (qtd. in Robinson 30).

Integrating sources – Internet sources Remember, you don’t use page numbers with electronic sources unless the page numbers have been imbedded in the text. You also might use page numbers with a PDF file where you can clearly tell what page your information came from. If the electronic source uses paragraph numbers, use them.

Punctuating Quoted Material Use a comma or colon to introduce the quote if you separate it from the rest of your sentence with an introductory phrase. Example: John Tibbets says, “The casting of Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris does indeed exploit their reputation for macho violence, but it’s a resonance that also conveys a profound rejection (or at least reconsideration) of that reputation.”

Punctuating Quoted Material Use a colon to introduce a quote: Example: John Tibbets says: “The casting …

Punctuating Quoted Material If you quote a whole sentence, but integrate it into a sentence of your own, you don’t have to use a comma or colon. Example: John Tibbets argues that “[t]he casting of Clint … “