MLA Citations: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

1. MLA CitationsLet us give credit where credit is due The Writing Center

2. Why should I document sources? Sources are documented for these reasons: • To make your style consistent for readers • To give credit to the writers you used • To enhance your own credibility as a writer

3. When should I cite sources? Borrow ideas from a source by…. • paraphrasing or summarizing parts of it • lifting key words or phrases from it • pulling statistics or facts from it, or • using information in tables, graphs, or diagrams If you’re unsure, cite the source!

4. MLA Format MLA (Modern Language Association) Format • Used in literature, languages, linguistics, history, philosophy, and composition studies • Requires in-text citations and a “Works Cited” page at the end of the paper • Example of MLA in-text citation • (Yang 13); (Author last name page #) • Example of MLA works-cited entry • Yang, Christina. The Trouble with Harper Avery. Penguin, 2010.

5. MLA Paper Format • One-inch margins on all sides • Easily readable typeface (Times New Roman is preferred) • Double-space throughout • Running head in right-hand corner, ½ from the top, right-justified • Student last name and page number • Appears on every page • Header with student’s name and course title is left justified • Title is center-justified (and original)

6. MLA In-text Citations Citations within the paper: • Refer your readers to the relevant source in the works-cited list at the end of the paper • Signal where to find the borrowed material in the original source • Indicate the boundariesbetween your ideas and those you have borrowed • Italicize longer works (book titles, movies, plays), and put shorter works in quotes (poems, articles, songs)

7. MLA In-text Citations Cite directly after the information you used and before the punctuation mark (period, question mark, comma, semicolon, etc.) One way to cite • Place both the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses • “The sky is falling!” (Little 33). Alternative way to cite • Introduce the author’s name in the sentence and supply just the page number in parentheses • Chicken Little informs his colleagues that the end of the world is imminent (33).

8. MLA In-text Citations:An Exercise According to one neurological hypothesis, “feelings are the expression of human flourishing or human desires” (Damasio 6). _______________________________________________ • Where would a reader find the paraphrased/quoted material in the source? • Page 6 • Which words/phrases are original? • According to one neurological hypothesis • Which words/phrases are borrowed from the source? • Feelings are the expression of human flourishing or human desires

9. When is it acceptable to use someone’s exact wordswithout using quotation marks? • Only when you have block indented When a quote spans four or more lines of prose and three or more lines of poetry, you should use a block quoteinstead of quotation marks.

10. Block Quote Example • Desmond described how Washoe tried signing to the other apes when the Gardners returned her to an ape colony in Oklahoma: • One particularly memorable day, a snake spread terror through the castaways on the ape island, and all but one fled in panic. This male sat absorbed, staring intently at the serpent. Then Washoe was seen running over, signing to him. (42) Colon leads into block quote Page number at the end Period before page number

11. In-text citation vs. Works Cited In-text citation: Rumbaugh reported that "Kanzi's comprehension of over 600 novel sentences of request was very comparable to Alia's" (722). Entry on the Works Cited page: Rumbaugh, Duane. “Primate language and cognition: Common ground.” Social Research. Random House, 1997.

12. MLA Works-Cited Page:Format • Center the words Works Cited at the top of the page • Double space all citations • Do not skip spaces between entries • Entries are listed alphabetically by the author’s last name • Place a period at the end of each entry

13. Use Hanging Indent

14. MLA Works-Cited Entries: Books Basic Book Format: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.____________________________________________________ Practice Write out a Works-Cited entry using the following information: • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte • Published in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co.

15. MLA Works-Cited Entries: Periodicals Basic Format for Magazines, Newspapers, Scholarly Journals: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical, vol. #, no. (of the issue) #, Day Month Year, p. #. _______________________________________________________ Practice Write out a Works-Cited entry using the following information: • “Is Texting Killing the English Language?” by John McWhorter • Published April 25, 2013 in Time magazine

16. MLA Works-Cited Entries: Electronic Sources Basic Website Format: Last Name, First Name. “Name of webpage or article.” Name of Site or Web Magazine, Day Month Year, URL (without the https://). Accessed Day Month Year. ______________________________________________________________ Example: “MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications).” Purdue Online Writing Lab, 10 Dec. 2017, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2018.

17. MLA Works-Cited Entries: Answers Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Smith, Elder & Co., 1847. McWhorter, John. “Is Texting Killing the English Language?” Time. 25 April 2015.

18. Helpful Resources Purdue Owl https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ The MLA Style Center https://style.mla.org The Writing Center (First floor of the duPont-Ball Library) • Monday - Thursday • 12 pm – 10 pm • Friday • 12 pm – 3 pm • Sunday • 3 pm – 6 pm