MLA In-Text Citations

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MLA In-Text Citations
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Your purpose in writing is to

• build and construct your own pattern of meaning
• develop your own ideas
• create your own organization
• reach your own conclusions

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You should

• use outside sources intelligently to strengthen
  your text with necessary support and evidence
• cite outside sources correctly

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You should not

• simply parrot back what those sources tell you.
• fail to give proper credit to the sources you use.

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Citing Sources

• shows your indebtedness to the work of others.
• gives the reader a chance to find further
  information.
• builds your credibility as a writer and
  researcher (ethos!).

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Why do I need to cite sources?

• You need to distinguish clearly between your own
  words and ideas and those of others.
• You should give credit where credit is due.
• There is no penalty for documenting.
• Failure to document is plagiarism.

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You must cite

• Quotations -- Taking from another source the
  exact words of the author and using them in your
  work. These words need to begin and end with
  quotation marks and should be cited.
• Note Quoted material is not just something
  someone said. Direct quotes can be used to
  capture the exact wording of any information in a
  source.

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When should I use direct quotations?

• Most often you should paraphrase and summarize
  source material.
• Quote only when you want the exact words of a
  source for some important reason.
• Keep quotations as brief as possible. Only rarely
  are extensive quotations of more than 4 lines
  necessary.

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Good reasons to quote from sources

• For support -- to bring the voices of experts
  into your paper.
• For vivid language -- the wording of the original
  sources is clearer and more effective than any
  paraphrase you could write.
• To represent the source fairly -- when you quote
  accurately and directly, no one can claim you
  misrepresented the source.

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A well-chosen quotation

• must be more than a random selection from a
  source (its not filler!)
• should say something significant or important
  enough to be quoted.
• should be well-written.

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Dont over quote

• Use quotations sparingly (for example In a
  5-page paper, 2 should not be quotations!)
• Dont let other voices dominate your paper
• Dont build your paper by stringing together
  other peoples words.
• Quotations offer evidence and support they are
  not a substitute for your own ideas, arguments
  and assertions.

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You must cite

• Facts that are not common knowledge
• If you can find the fact in multiple sources, it
  is common knowledge and you do not need to cite
  it. For example the population of the United
  States, the chemical formula for water, the
  number of planets in the solar system, etc.

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You must cite

• Paraphrase -- Short passages (two to three
  sentences) from a source that you have rephrased
  in your own words. Paraphrased material is not
  enclosed in quotation marks.

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You must cite

• Summaries -- Taking lengthy passages from a
  source (multiple paragraphs or more), and
  reformulating or outlining them in your own
  words. Summarized material is not enclosed in
  quotation marks.

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MLA In-Text CitationsBasic Format

• (Authors Last Name (space) Page Number)
• One author claims that no one is concerned with
  this issue (Jones 45).
• No comma between name and page
• Close quotes before citation period goes outside
  the parenthesis

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MLA In-Text CitationsBasic Format

• If the authors name appears in the introduction
  to the quote, then only a page is required.
• Howard Jones, director of the National Institute
  of Alien Abductions, argues that no one is
  concerned with this issue (45).

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MLA In-Text CitationsWeb Sources

• Treat citations for web sources and on-line data
  bases the same as you would for printed works
• Fixed page s generally not available
• Omit page dont use page number from print-out
• DO NOT PUT WEB ADDRESS IN CITATION!!

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MLA In-Text CitationsNo Author Available

• If no author is available, use a short form of
  the title
• Title of the article Thirty Reasons to Write a
  Research Paper
• Citation looks like (Thirty Reasons 26)
• Title of the Book Ultimate Guide to the Simpsons
• Citation looks like (Ultimate 567).

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MLA In-Text CitationsMultiple Authors

• Both names included joined by the word and
• (Cortez and Jones 56)
• Three or more authors, use first authors last
  name followed by the abbreviation et al.
• (Cortez et al. 378)

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MLA In-Text CitationsDifferent Authors Same
Last Name

• Include enough information to differentiate them
• (H. Jones 48) (O. Jones 36)

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MLA In-Text CitationsMultiple Works by One Author

• Author Howard Jones
• Book Title The Man of the Hour
• Magazine Article The Destruction of the
  American Mind
• (Jones, Man 475) (Jones, Destruction 34)

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MLA In-Text CitationsGroup Authors

• Group authors like corporations, professional
  organizations, etc.
• Use same format, but substitute group name
• (American Heart Association 68)

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MLA In-Text CitationsIndirect Source(a source
quoted in another source)

• Use abbreviation qtd. in
• Musician Miles Davis quoted in an article by Nat
  Hentoff
• In one interview, the jazz legend said, I never
  took formal music lessons (Davis, qtd. in
  Hentoff).
• Miles Davis once said, I never took formal music
  lessons (qtd. in Hentoff).

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MLA In-Text Citations

• Bottom line An in-text citation must match up
  with the first word or few words of your works
  cited entry--authors last name or shortened
  version of the works title
• Rychnovsky, Ray. Clawing into Controversy.
  Outdoor Life Jan. 1995 38-42.
• (Rychnovsky 41)
• Lion Attacks Prompt State to Respond. New York
  Times 18 Oct. 1995, late ed. A21.
• (Lion Attacks A21).

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Integrating quotations Attribution

• Introduce all quotations so the reader knows who
  is being quotedinclude the speakers
  credentials!
• Dont rely on parenthetical citations to convey
  this information.

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Integrating quotationsProviding commentary

• Dont assume your reader sees the same
  significance in the quote that you do
• Dont leave the quote hanging or quote and
  run.

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Integrating quotationsProviding commentary

• Your reader must understand why you have chosen a
  particular passage to quote.
• Your reader must see the significance of what it
  says
• Your reader must know what you want him/her to
  take from the quote.

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Remember the OREO rule

• Step One The Cookie -- Start with a few
  sentences, building up to and explaining the
  quote and why you are using it.

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For example

• Most often, families that are dysfunctional are
  the ones that spot aliens. Sighting aliens has
  been characteristic of abusive, single-parent, or
  low-income families for years. Many scientists
  have documented this overwhelming phenomenon.

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Remember the OREO rule

• Step Two The Cream -- Once you have built up to
  the quote, you are able to smoothly insert the
  quote into the context.

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For example
According to Dr. Alvin Goodchuck, Ph.D.,
world-renowned family psychologist and NASA
consultant, Were seeing that time and time
again, dysfunctional families are at least ten
times more likely than any other familial
structure to sight aliens (216).
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Remember the OREO rule

• Step Three The Cookie -- Now you may explain the
  significance of the quote and make it clear what
  you want the reader to take from it.

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For example
With such overwhelming rates of dysfunctional
families spotting aliens, it is not only safe,
but correct, to say that aliens are choosing the
types of families they visit.
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Putting the OREO together
Most often, families that are dysfunctional are
the ones that spot aliens. Sighting aliens has
been characteristic of abusive, single-parent, or
low-income families for years. Many scientists
have documented this overwhelming phenomenon.
According to Dr. Alvin Goodchuck, Ph.D.,
world-renowned family psychologist and NASA
consultant, Were seeing that time and time
again, dysfunctional families are at least ten
times more likely than any other familial
structure to sight aliens (216). With such
overwhelming rates of dysfuntional families
spotting aliens, it is not only safe, but
correct, to say that aliens are choosing the
types of families they visit.