1. In-Text Citations and Works Cited
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MLA Documentation
In-Text Citations and Works Cited

2. OVERVIEW Documentation In-text citations Research databases
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OVERVIEW
Documentation
In-text citations
Research databases
Works cited
Resources

3. documentation What is documentation?
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documentation
What is documentation?
Why, what, and when do I document?
Style Guides

4. DOCUMENTATION What is Documentation?
Documentation gives an author or resource credit for original information. Documentation of a paper includes two parts:
Citations: These are “in-text”, meaning in body of your paper. When you present information, you briefly identify its source.
Works Cited: On a separate page at the end of your paper, you write a detailed list of the sources cited in your paper.
The in-text citations and works cited should document the exact same sources.

5. DOCUMENTATION Why, What, and When Do I Document?
Give authors credit for their ideas
Avoid plagiarism
Increase credibility and transparency
Help your readers focus on your ideas
What?
Any information that you learned from another source including facts, statistics, opinions, theories, photographs, and charts
EXCEPTION: Information that is common knowledge
Barack Obama is the president of the United States.
The Declaration of Independence was signed July 4, 1776.
When?
Cite sources immediately after mentioning their information in any way (quotations, summaries, paraphrases).

6. DOCUMENTATION Styles Guides
Different professional communities use different style guides, that include rules for documentation, organization, style, and formatting.
Ask your teachers which guide they want you to use.
Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Guide
English Studies - Language and Literature
Foreign Language and Literatures
American Psychological Association (APA) Style Guide
Social Sciences
Nursing
Chicago Style Guide
Literature, history, and the arts
Sciences
Social sciences

7. In-text citations MLA uses parenthetical, in-text citations
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In-text citations
MLA uses parenthetical, in-text citations
Author and page number
Title and page number
Page number only
No page number available

8. IN-TEXT CITATIONS Author and Page Number
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IN-TEXT CITATIONS Author and Page Number
REQUIRED INFORMATION
Author’s last name and page number (or range of pages) in parenthesis.
EXAMPLE
Symbolic reasoning helped the brain evolve quickly through the development of words and language (Medina 34).

9. IN-TEXT CITATIONS Title and Page Number
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IN-TEXT CITATIONS Title and Page Number
REQUIRED INFORMATION When there is no author identified, use the first few words of the title and page number in parenthesis. EXAMPLE By 2004, ten nations were expected to join the fifteen that comprised the European Union (“The World Almanac” 202).

10. IN-TEXT CITATIONS Page Number Only
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IN-TEXT CITATIONS Page Number Only
REQUIRED INFORMATION
When the author is identified within the text, include the page number only in parenthesis.
EXAMPLE
In Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, John Medina identifies the “nap zone” as a period of time in the mid-afternoon when humans naturally feel sleepy (159).

11. IN-TEXT CITATIONS No Page Number Available
Gavilan College Writing Center
IN-TEXT CITATIONS No Page Number Available
REQUIRED INFORMATION
When a resource doesn’t use page numbers, identify the work by author’s last name or title in parenthesis.
EXAMPLE - eBook
Humans rationalize their bad behavior to fool themselves into thinking it is acceptable (Rosenberg, ch. 2).
EXAMPLE – scholarly article accessed electronically
The brain’s ability to conserve energy allows it to outperform robotic technology (Sejnowski).
EXAMPLE - webpage
San Benito Junior College opened its doors in 1919 and became Gavilan Community College in 1966 (“History”).

12. IN-TEXT CITATIONS Let’s Practice!
Below are the Works Cited entry for John Medina’s Brain Rules and two sentences you included in your paper which refer to his ideas. Show how you would correctly cite this information.
Medina, John. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle: Pear Press, Print.
From page 85:
From page 240:
Although people often claim they multitask, the human brain can only do one thing at a time.
Although people often claim they multitask, the human brain can only do one thing at a time (Medina 85).
Medina claims that “Vision is by far our most dominant sense, taking up half of our brain’s resource” (240).
Medina claims that “Vision is by far our most dominant sense, taking up half of our brain’s resource.”

13. GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES
Gavilan College Writing Center
GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES
Gavilan library subscribes to databases for scholarly research.
Research databases often provide MLA formatted citations that can be copied into your paper.
Students have access through the library website ( with a student ID or library card.

14. GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES
Gavilan College Writing Center
Gavilan Library
GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES

15. GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES
Gavilan College Writing Center
Gavilan Library
GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES

16. GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES
Gavilan College Writing Center
Gavilan Library
GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES

17. Gavilan College Writing Center
Works cited
Formatting works cited is specific and dependent on the type of reference material.
There are many resources available in print and on the internet.

18. WORKS CITED MLA Format - BOOKS
Gavilan College Writing Center
WORKS CITED MLA Format - BOOKS
FORMAT Author. Title. City: Publisher, date. Format. EXAMPLE: Printed Book Medina, John. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle: Pear Press, Print. EXAMPLE: eBook Rosenberg, Tina. Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, n. pag. Kindle file.

19. WORKS CITED MLA Format - WEBSITES
Gavilan College Writing Center
WORKS CITED MLA Format - WEBSITES
FORMAT Author or organization. “Title of Section, if given.” Title of the Website. Sponsoring organization or publisher. Date of publication or last revision. Web. Date your viewed it. EXAMPLE “History of Gavilan College.” Gavilan College. Gavilan College. 26 Aug Web. 26 Sep

20. WORKS CITED MLA Format – SCHOLARLY ARTICLE
Gavilan College Writing Center
WORKS CITED MLA Format – SCHOLARLY ARTICLE
FORMAT Author or Organization. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal. Volume number. Issue number (Year): pages covered by article. Information service. Format. Date viewed if online. EXAMPLE Sejnowski, Terry, and Tobi Delbruck. "The Language Of The Brain." Scientific American (2012): Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Sept CORRECTED EXAMPLE Sejnowski, Terry, and Tobi Delbruck. "The Language of the Brain." Scientific American (2012): Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Sept
NOTE: For articles originally in print found through the library computer system, include the information service.
NOTE: Double check citation provided from information service for correct formatting.

21. WORKS CITED Let’s Practice
In your paper you have cited the Kindle edition of Until Tuesday by Luis Carlos Montalván. You have looked up the correct format for book: Author. Title. City: Publisher, date. Format. Create a correctly formatted entry for your works cited page.
Montalván, Luis Carlos. Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him. New York: Hyperion, Kindle file.

22. WORKS CITED MLA Format – Sample Works Cited Page
Gavilan College Writing Center
WORKS CITED MLA Format – Sample Works Cited Page
Page is double- spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point.
Last name and page number is in the upper right corner of the header..
“Works Cited” is centered and the first line of the page
Works are alphabetized by authors’ last names.
1st line of each entry begins at left margin.
Subsequent lines are indented ½ inch. 1”
½ ”

23. Gavilan College Writing Center
Mla resources
There are many resources available to guide you through formatting citations.
You should always have one handy when working with reference material.

24. MLA FORMAT RESOURCES Reference Books & Websites
Gavilan College Writing Center
MLA FORMAT RESOURCES Reference Books & Websites

25. MLA FORMAT RESOURCES Gavilan College Writing Center
Writing Assistants trained to guide you through citing sources and formatting a Works Cited page
Computers available to access research databases
Helpful advice for MLA reference books and websites
Schedule an appointment or drop in
Hours: Monday thru Thursday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday 8:00 AM-1:00 PM
Phone: (408)