Transcript MLA Citation - University of Nebraska Omaha

MLA Documentation
Understanding a Discipline’s Philosophy
Creating Credibility with Your Readers
Living a Plagiarism-Free Life
UNO Writing Center
2006-07
Language of Documentation
 History of Documentation
 Philosophy of MLA
Why do we cite sources?
 To allow readers to locate and retrieve
sources used in an essay.
 To properly acknowledge another
author’s ideas and work.
 To build your own credibility as a
serious, knowledgeable writer.
 To avoid plagiarism.
MLA Style: Two Parts
In-Text Citation
(Parenthetical Documentation)
Works Cited Page
Part I: In-Text Citations
What needs to be cited?
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Direct Quotes
Paraphrases
Another source’s research, theories or ideas
Another source’s argument or opinions
Facts that are not commonly known
Another source’s visuals, e.g. tables, graphs,
images, statistics
Part I: In-Text Citations
What does NOT need to be cited?
 Proverbs or sayings

A stitch in time saves nine.
 Well-known quotations
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“To be or not to be. That is the question.”
 Common knowledge
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Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
 Your own field research, observations or
surveys

My survey revealed that 15% of the Shakespeare class believes
Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare’s plays.
How to Use In-text Citations
Author’s last name and page number(s) of
quote must appear in the text.
Heiresses know “there’s a big difference between being fun
and provocative and being totally over the top and gross”
(Hilton 8).
Paris Hilton argues an heiress knows “there’s a big
difference between being fun and provocative and being
totally over the top and gross” (8).
Using Attributive Tags
(Signal Phrases)
According to Hilton in her
autobiography, “I’m a
fantasy to a lot of people .
. . They want to think I’m
‘Paris Barbie’” (8).
In her autobiography, Confessions of an
Heiress, Paris Hilton reminds us that
“an heiress knows how to tread that fine
line – in stilettos” (8).
How to Cite a Paraphrase
 Paraphrase material by putting the source’s idea
into your own words AND sentence structure.
Original: “there’s a big difference between being fun and
provocative and being totally over the top and gross”
(Hilton 8).
Paraphrase: Hilton acknowledges the contrast between
suggestive behavior and coarse, vulgar behavior (8).
In-text Rarities
 Same Last Name: Use the first initial of their
first name in the parenthetical:
(C. Hilton 45 ) and (P. Hilton 8)
 No Author: Use the first word or words from
the title of the source. Punctuate appropriately:
“Paris: The Barest”
(“Paris” 12)
More In-text Rarities
Same Author, Multiple Works:
The author’s last name must be accompanied by a word
from the title of the source you are referring to:
(Hilton, “Confessions” 8) and (Hilton, “Diary” 25)
Web Sources: When possible use (Author page
#) or (Title page #): (Dionne A21)
If no page numbers are provided, use paragraph numbers
instead. (Author par. #) or (Title par. #): (“Paris” par.
17)
Part 2: Works Cited
 The Works Cited page contains a
complete list of sources that you cite in
your essay.
 Each Works Cited entry provides the
bibliographic information necessary for a
reader to locate and retrieve that source.
Works Cited
 Most entries should contain the following
information:
Author’s name (last name, first name)
Title of work
Publication information
Works Cited: Some Examples
 Book:
Author. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher,
Date.
Mair, George. Paris Hilton: The Naked Truth. New
York: Penguin, 2004.
Collins, Ronald K.L., and David M. Skover. The Death of
Discourse. New York: Westview, 1996.
Note: Only the first author’s name is reversed.
Works Cited: More
Examples
 Journal Article
Author. “Title of Article: Subtitle.” Periodical Title
Volume (Year): Inclusive Page Number(s).
Howarth, William J. “Some Principles of Autobiography.”
New Literary History 5.2 (1974): 363-81.
Note: Journals that paginate each issue separately will call
for an issue number as well: . . . volume.issue (year):
inclusive page numbers.
Works Cited: Even More
Examples
 Web Page (Professional )
Author. “Title of Document.” Info about Electronic
Publication. Access Information.
Dionne, Jr., E.J. “The Paris Hilton Tax Cut.” The
Washington Post 12 Apr. 2005. 29 Oct. 2005
<www.washingtonpost. com>.
Sample Works Cited Page
Works Cited
Kimball, Miles A. The Web Portfolio Guide: Creating Electronic Portfolios for the Web. NY: Longman,
2003.
Springfield, Emily. “Comparing Electronic and Paper Portfolios.” Ed. Barbara L. Cambridge et al.
Electronic Portfolios: Emerging Practices in Student, Faculty, and Institutional Learning.
Washington, D.C.: American Association for Higher Education, 2001. 76-82.
Treuer, Paul, and Jill D. Jenson. “Electronic Portfolios Need Standards to Thrive.” Educause Quarterly 2
(2003): 34-42.
Formatting an MLA Paper
Pitsnoggle 1
Peter Pitsnoggle
Professor Snodgrass
English 1150
15 November 2005
Hilton’s Empire
Hilton walked the runaway not or the money or the attention, but because it was “fun”
and “if [she] didn’t do it, who would? [She] created a new opportunity for [other] young
heiresses” (5).
For more information…
 MLA Handbook
 UNO Writing Center
www.unomaha.edu/writingcenter/
 Modern Language Association
 Purdue On-Line Writing Lab
 St. Martin’s Handbook
www.mla.org
owl.english.purdue.edu