In-Text Citation (MLA) by C. Carroll and G. Lejeune 2012

To cite = to identify and give credit to the source of your information. site CITE IS sight RIGHT!

Why do we need to cite sources? To avoid plagiarism  Academic censure / ruined career To recognize intellectual property To show support for your argument To be honest and ethical

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 needs to be cited? You should acknowledge the source of any original or controversial idea. Examples: Cause of an historical event Interpretation or influence of literary work Questionable authorship

What does NOT need to be cited? FACTS that can be verified in 3 sources Examples of facts: Birth & death dates & places Locations of landmarks Plant and animal kingdoms If in doubt, cite it!

What does the citation look like? Author’s last name in parentheses If author unknown, use title of work (may be shortened) Followed by page number, if any (with NO PUNCTUATION) Just enough info to guide your reader to the complete bibliography entry

Where does the citation go? Citation is located IN the TEXT, right after the quote or idea is used Citation goes at the end of the sentence, group of sentences, or paragraph where ideas are used Appropriate sentence punctuation follows the parentheses so citation becomes part of the sentence.

Example of In-Text Citation: Direct quotation “Today switching circuits and computer logic are laid out using the rules Boole created” (Henderson 24). Note: period to end sentence goes AFTER the close parenthesis

Example of In-Text Citation: Paraphrase According to Henderson, Boole wrote the rules that are still used in computer logic today (24). Note: since author’s name is mentioned in the text, it is not needed in the citation.

Example of In-Text Citation: Summary Boole’s influence on computer logic has been enormous (Henderson 17-24). This statement summarizes several pages of the book.

Example of In-Text Citation: Article/Book with no Author “Boole’s abstruse reasoning has led to applications of which he never dreamed” (“Boole”) This article came from Encyclopedia Britannica Online. The title has been shortened from “Boole, George.”

In-text Citation leads to Works Cited Word in parentheses of in-text citation = same word as the beginning of the Works Cited (bibliography) entry. This word serves as a signpost to the reader to find the full source in the Works Cited list. May be author’s last name, title of article, title of book, or title of webpage.

Works Cited “Boole, George.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web. Sept. 21, Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 5 th ed. New York: the Modern Language Association of American, Print. Henderson, John. Boolean Logic. New York: Random House, Print. “Young, Elizabeth V. "Anne Bradstreet: Overview" in Feminist Writers, edited by Pamela Kester-Shelton, St. James Press, Gale Literature Resource Center. Web. (Jan. 8, 2012).