How and When to Cite Your Sources

Library & Learning CentreSha Tin College

MLAModern Language

Association (7th Ed.)

Sha Tin College recommends:

MLA

Is a style or format that sets out rules determining:

How to set up your paper

How you document your research sources

Why Do We Need To Cite Sources?

Referencing is used to acknowledge and credit the work of others cited in your paper.

It protects you against accusations of Plagiarism (taking credit for other people’s work).

It provides a map of your research for other.

Correct referencing is an easy way of obtaining

4 marks for your essay.

What is a Citation or Reference

It is a bibliographic list of resources that you have used in your work. It usually includes:

• Author’s Name• Title• Publisher’s Name & City of Publication• Date of Publication• Website Address (although this is optional in 7th ed.)

There are two parts:

• In-Text Citation/ Parentheses• Reference List

In-Text CitationThe citation should appear next to the quotation or paraphrased text using only:

(Author’s Last Name Page Number)

Example:

Romantic poetry is characterized by the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263).

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was “a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (263).

Both are acceptable

Examples of In-Text Citation

1.No author: use title

(“Impact of Global Warming” 6)

2.Two authors with same last name: use initial of first name

(A. Miller 7) (B. Miller 10)

3.Multiple authors

(Smith, Yang, and Moore 76) or (Smith et al. 76) if there are more than 3 authors

4. Multiple books/ articles by same author

Book: (Smith, In Communication 56) or Article (Smith, “Visual Studies” 17)

5. Indirect citation when you’re not referencing from the original book/article

(quoted in Smith 300) or (qtd. In Smith 300)

6.Website

Include first item that appears in Work Cited entry (authors name or title). You do not need to include paragraph or page number.

(Smith) or (“Impact of Global Warming”) or (CNN.com)

References/Cited WorksThe FULL citation should:

Appear in alphabetical order on the last page.

Contains enough bibliographic information to allow readers to locate your source.

Formatted with hanging indentations.

Example:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford University Press, 1967. Print.

Referencing changes according to type of source cited:

Letters, Journal Articles, Websites, Images, Videos etc.

Reference or Bibliography?

A Reference or Works Cited referred only to resources that you have actually cited in your paper.

A Bibliography may also include material you have consulted but not directly cited or paraphrased.

Footnotes & EndnotesMLA discourages excessive use of Footnotes & Endnotes

However…

MLA do allow their use for bibliographic notes which refer to other publications readers may consult.

The occasional explanatory notes which refer to brief additional notes not included in the main body of the text.

When Should I Cite:Information or ideas that are new to you, even if

you paraphrase.

Direct Quotations (use quotation marks “….”).

Numerical figures such as: dates, statistics, percentages etc.

Anything that is specific or questionable.

Images.

If in doubt, cite the source.

MLA Citations Are required when introducing works of others:

Paraphrase or quote the information and cite the source at the end of the sentence.

Introduce a source with phrases such as: according to… then paraphrase or quote, then cite.

Use introductory verbs such as: Smith discovered, proved, indicated, asserted, found and noted.

How Do I Cite:Books

Journal Articles

Websites

Online Magazines

Pictures

BooksAuthor’s Last Name, First Name. Title. City of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Date. Format.

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1978. Print.

Cassell, Kay Ann, Uma Hiremath. Reference and Information Services in the 21st Century. London: Neal-Schuman,

2009. Print.

More than 3 author’s use phrase et al. (Latin: and others)

Journal ArticleAuthor’s Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Magazine or Journal Title Volume.Issue (date): pages. Format.

Horn, Anne. "Strategic Competence: to Soar Above." Library Management 29.1 (2008): 5-17. Print.

WebsiteAuthor/Creator/Publisher (if stated). “Web page title.” Website Title (this can incl.: .com, .org etc). Version number (if stated). Sponsor (if stated). Date listed on site or page. Web. Date you visited. URL (optional)

"The Purdue OWL: Research and Citation." Welcome to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL). Purdue University, Sep. 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

NB: 7th Edition of MLA does not require a URL to be included.

Online MagazineAuthor’s Last Name, First Name. “Article title.” Name of web magazine. Publisher. (Date of article listed on site). Page. Format. Date website was visited.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and

Society: the International Online-Only Journal 6.2 (2008): 330-336. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

ImagesArtist’s Last Name, First Name. The work of art. Date of creation. Name of institution and city where work is housed. Name of website. Format. Date accessed.

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Archive. Web. 26 Feb. 2012.

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Citation Guidelines & Tools

Citation Guidelines and Tools

Here you will find:

MLA Citation style – Useful tips on citation management from Cornell University

Purdue OWL MLA – for further citation guidance

Template for MLA style

Links to Referencing tools: EasyBib & Bibme

Oliver The following guides and tools are available on the library cataloguing page:

Purdue University Writing Lab Conducting Research Using Research Referencing MLA

Tools for citing sources Bibme.org Easybib.com

For Further Assistance

Visit the LLC

Ask the LIBRARIAN

MLA QUIZMLA Practice Test: Online Writing Lab, Utah Valley

University

MLA Citation Methods Quiz: Sponsored by The Learning Center for Teaching and Learning at UIS

MLA Citation Methods Quiz (Answer Key): Sponsored by The Learning Center for Teaching and Learning at UIS