MLA and APA Style: Incorporating SourcesEVANS LIBRARY RESEARCH SUPPORT WORKSHOP

When to Use a Quote:

When language is especially vivid or expressive When exact wording is needed for technical accuracy When it is important to let the debaters of an issue explain their positions in their

own words When the words of an authority lend weight to an argument When the language of a source is the topic of your discussion

Taken from: The Bedford Handbook (9th Edition). Hacker, D., Sommers, N. I. (2014). The Bedford handbook (9th ed.). Boston, Mass.: Bedford/St. Martins.

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Paraphrasing: restating the language of a source in your own words Summarizing: a review of the main points

Formatting Citations

Citations include publication information for the source such as the author, title, date of publication and publisher.

You need to follow the MLA or APA guidelines exactly to make sure your citations are correct.

Introduce Quotes etc.

When using material from an outside source, make sure you introduce it with a signal phrase…

Example: Maria Konnikova, (2014) a writer for the New Yorker suggests, “Maybe the decline of deep reading isn’t due to reading skill atrophy but to the need to develop a very different sort of skill, that of teaching yourself to focus your attention.” (p. 3) Konnikova brings up an important point…

You can use several active verbs such as:

Admitted, contented, asserted, believed, noted, reported, wrote, or refuted.

Think about the context and make sure you relate your quote to the point you are making in your paper.

“”

Maria Konnikova, (2014) a writer for the New Yorker suggests, “Maybe the decline of deep reading isn’t due to reading skill atrophy but to the need to develop a very different sort of skill, that of teaching yourself to focus your attention.

(P.3)

Konnikova brings up an important point, people’s ability to focus directly impacts their ability to accomplish tasks. In an online environment, with many distractions that skill is a must.

Konnikova, M. (2014, August 14) Being a Better Online Reader. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com

In Text Citations

In text citations are just as important as your works cited or references page.

Use in-text citations any time your quote, paraphrase or summarize another source.

MLA: (Author last name page number). i.e. (Smith 286).

APA: (Author last name, Date of Publication, page number). (depends on how the source is introduced) (Smith, 2014, 286).

Citation Examples:

BookMLA:

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York : Scholastic Press, 2008. Print.

BookAPA:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.

Examples Continued:

Scholarly Article (MLA):

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume. Issue (Year): pages. Medium of publication.

Manago, Adriana M. "Me and My 400 Friends: The Anatomy of College Students' Facebook Networks, Their Communication Patterns, and Well-Being". Developmental Psychology 48.2 (2012): 369-380. Print.

Scholarly Article (APA):

Manago, A. M., Taylor, T., & Greenfield, P. M. (2012). Me and my 400 friends: The anatomy of college students' Facebook networks, their communication patterns, and well-being. Developmental Psychology, 48(2), 369-380. doi:10.1037/a0026338

Article from a Database:MLA:

Author. “Title of Article”. Journal Title. Volume number: issue number (year of publication): page numbers. Database name. Web. Date of Access.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal 50.1 (2007): 173-96. ProQuest. Web. 27 May 2009.

APA:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article.Title of Journal, volume number, page range. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L., & Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas. Journal of Abnormal Eating, 8(3), 120-125. Retrieved fromhttp://www.articlehomepage.com/full/url/

Use a citation management toolLIKE REFWORKS TO HELP KEEP TRACK OF AND PROPERLY FORMAT YOUR SOURCES

Check Your Work

Use an official style guide or OWL at Purdue to check your references

The Bedford Handbook (9th edition) has up-to-date MLA and APA sections.

You can look for help online at http://blog.apastyle.org/

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/

References

Some examples were taken from the Online Writing lab at Purdue University. Use the QR code to learn more.

Information on In text citations was adapted from: