2. Research Skill #2
MLA in-Text Citations

3. What are in-text citations?
An in-text citation is a brief reference in your text that indicates the source you consulted.
In-text citations should:
direct readers to the entry in your works-cited page for that source.
provide the citation information without interrupting your own text.
In general, MLA in-text citations will be in author-page style.

4. Author-page style Author-page style format involves:
The author's last name
The page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken
The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in the citation following the quotation or paraphrase,
The page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. 
Here it is important to stress to students that just because they put something in their own words, doesn’t excuse them from giving credit to the source. That is still plagiarism. In addition, it is also possible to plagiarize one’s self by turning in a paper twice or using “chunks” of previous papers in new papers. That also can get them into trouble if they do not cite themselves. The students might find that funny, but many professors have gotten into trouble that way. There are some examples from UTPA.

5. Author-page style Author’s name included in sentence:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (263).
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
Author’s name included in citation:
Romantic poetry is characterized by the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263).

6. Formatting in-text citations
Punctuation
If the citation appears at the end of a sentence, a period will go after the citation.
Example: According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184).
If the citation appears within the sentence, a comma or semicolon will go after the citation.
Example: According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.
If you are using a direct quote and a question mark or exclamation point is part of the quote it should appear within the quotation marks. If a question mark or exclamation point is part of your own words then it should appear after the in-text citation.
Example: Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?

7. In-text citation formatting
Placement
When using source evidence, you will always in-text cite immediately after the evidence. This could appear within a sentence or at the end of a sentence.
Example:
Although some medical ethicists claim that cloning will lead
to designer children (R. Miller 12), others note that
the advantages for medical research outweigh this
consideration (A. Miller 46).
If you use evidence from the same source multiple times in a paragraph, you do not need to provide an in-text citation until after the final piece of evidence from that source.

8. Unknown Author
When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name.
Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article, chapter title, etc.) or italicize it if it's a longer work (plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites, etc.) and provide a page number.
Example:
We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has “more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change…” (“Impact of Global Warming” 6).

9. Authors with Same Last Names
If two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials.
Use the authors' full name if different authors share initials in your citation.
Example:
Although some medical ethicists claim that cloning will
lead to designer children (R. Miller 12), others note that
the advantages for medical research outweigh this
consideration (A. Miller 46).

10. Multiple Authors
For a source with two authors, list the authors’ last names in the text or in the citation.
Examples:
Authors incorporated in sentence:
Strong and Ellis argue that tougher gun control is not needed in the United States (76).
Direct quote with authors incorporated in citation: The authors state: “Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights” (Smith and Ellis 76).
Paraphrase with authors incorporated in citation:
A 2016 study suggests that stricter gun control in the United States will significantly prevent accidental shootings (Strong and Ellis 23).
The other half of MLA citation is the Works Cited page, which is composed of bibliographic entries that match up to the in-text citations in the paper. For every unique citation in the paper there should be a corresponding bibliographic entry. That allows the reader to look up the citation on the Works Cited page and find out how they can find that source themselves, should they want to.
Also, although there are over 60 different formats for bibliographic entries, these five are the most commonly used and if they learn how to do these five very well, then they can understand the others that are in the book. It is impossible to memorize all of the formats, so it is good to always go back to the book as a reference.

11. Multiple Works by the Same Author
If you cite more than one work by a particular author
Include the title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from the others.
Put titles of books in italics
Put titles of articles in quotation marks
If the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence
Format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma, followed by the title of the work, followed, when needed, by page numbers.

12. Multiple Works by the Same Author
Two Articles by the Same Author:
Lightenor has argued that computers are not useful tools for small children (“Too Soon” 38), though he has acknowledged elsewhere that early exposure to computer games does lead to better small motor skill development in a child's second and third year (“Hand-Eye Development” 17).
Two Books by the Same Author:
Murray states that writing is "a process" that "varies with our thinking style" (Write to Learn 6). Additionally, Murray argues that the purpose of writing is to "carry ideas and information from the mind of one person into the mind of another" (A Writer Teaches Writing 3).
Author not mentioned in sentence:
Visual studies, because it is such a new discipline, may be “too easy” (Elkins, “Visual Studies” 63).

13. Citing Indirect Sources
An indirect source is a source cited in another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted.
In most cases, you should attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.
Example:
Ravitch argues that high schools are pressured to act as “social service centers, and they don't do that well” (qtd. in Weisman 259).

14. Citing Sources from the Internet
For electronic and Internet sources, use the following guidelines:
Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
You do not need to give paragraph numbers or page numbers.
Do not include URLs in the sentence or citation. Only provide website names like CNN.com or Forbes.com as opposed to writing out or
Example:
An article posted by LATimes.com reported that during the school year, “only 17.7% of the nation’s public middle, high school and combined schools met the 8:30 a.m. guideline, and 40% started before 8 a.m.” (Lewis).

15. Works in Time-based Media
When citing sources such as a movie or podcast include:
The title
The range of hours, minutes and seconds you reference
(00:02:15-00:02:35)
Example:
Buffy’s promise that “there’s not going to be any incidents like at my old school” is obviously not one on which she can follow through (Buffy 00:03:16-17).

16. Presenting Evidence
To review, there are three different ways to present evidence in your writing. Direct Quote: Directly use someone’s words Paraphrase: Put someone else’s ideas into your own words. Summarize: Condense someone else’s words or ideas. YOU MUST PROVIDE IN-TEXT CITATIONS FOR EACH OR IT IS CONSIDERED PLAGIARISM!

17. Direct Quote
You will format quotations differently depending on their length.
Short quotations (fewer than four typed lines)
Enclose the quotation within quotation marks.
Periods, commas, and semicolons should appear after the in-text citation.
Question marks and exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a part of the quote but after the in-text citation if they are a part of your text.
Examples:
According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.
According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184).
Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?

18. Direct Quote Long quotations (more than four lines): Block quote
Place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks.
Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented ½ inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing.
Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.
For our purposes, you should not use a quote that is more than four lines long.
Example:
Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:
They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

19. Paraphrase vs. Summarize?
Sometimes it is difficult to know the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing source evidence. There are a variety of differences between the two methods that will help you determine which method to use when presenting source evidence.
Remember: You must always provide an in-text citation whether you are summarizing or paraphrasing. Failing to cite your sources is considered plagiarism!

20. Summary vs. Paraphrase Summary Paraphrase
Puts a passage from the source in your own words
In-text citation required
Includes only the main idea(s) of the original passage providing a broad overview of the original passage
Significantly shorter than the original passage
Puts a passage from the source in your own words
In-text citation required
Includes most of the information from the original source providing a condensed version of the original passage
Usually shorter than the original passage

21. Paraphrase vs. Summarize?
Original Passage:
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. 
Paraphrase:
In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).
Summary: Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

22. Practice
Provide an in-text citation for the following direct quote, using the Works Cited page entry.
Works Cited page entry (pick a page number):
Gillis, Justin. “Earth Sets a Temperature Record
for the Third Straight Year.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company,18 Jan pp
The author noted that this, “is the first time in the modern era of global warming data that temperatures have blown past the previous record three years in a row.”
Remove the period from inside the quote (Gillis 42).

23. Practice
A paraphrase from Jack Ziegler’s book found on page 423: Both poet-teachers strongly believe in the benefits of dream writing for beginning writers. Move the period from inside the quote (Ziegler 423).

24. Practice
A paraphrase from an article in a magazine with no author titled “The New Republic” and found on page 38:
Students learned a full year’s Spanish in ten days using the complete supermemory method.
Move the period from inside the quote (“The New Republic” 38).

25. Practice
A paraphrase from an article titled “How to Communicate with and Listen to Your Teen” by Kenneth R. Ginsburg and Sara B. Kinsman: The authors urge parents to avoid giving lectures because teenagers will often not listen. Move the period from inside the quote (Ginsburg and Kinsman).

26. Julius Caesar was an incredibly powerful person in Ancient Rome
Julius Caesar was an incredibly powerful person in Ancient Rome. He had many leadership qualities that allowed him to gain power, such as paraphrased information from “7 Unforgettable…” article_ (in-text citation). Another great leadership quality he had was _____, which he showed when “_quoted line from “7 Unforgettable…” article_” (in-text citation). There were some negative aspects of Caesar as well. For instance, _paraphrased information from “Ides of March…” article_ (in-text citation). He also showed more negative qualities when “_quoted line from “Ides of March…” article_” (in-text citation).