MLA DOCUMENTATIONIn-Text Citations and Works Cited

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OVERVIEW

• Documentation• In-text citations• Research databases• Works cited• Resources

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DOCUMENTATION

• What is documentation?• Why, what, and when do I document?• Style Guides

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DOCUMENTATION What is Documentation?Documentation gives an author or resource credit for original information. Documentation of a paper includes two parts:

• Citations: These are “in-text”, meaning in body of your paper. When you present information, you briefly identify its source.

• Works Cited: On a separate page at the end of your paper, you write a detailed list of the sources cited in your paper.

The in-text citations and works cited should document the exact same sources.

DOCUMENTATION Why, What, and When Do I Document?

Why? • Give authors credit for their ideas

• Avoid plagiarism

• Increase credibility and transparency

• Help your readers focus on your ideas

What? • Any information that you learned from another source including facts, statistics, opinions, theories, photographs, and charts

• EXCEPTION: Information that is common knowledge

• Barack Obama is the president of the United States.

• The Declaration of Independence was signed July 4, 1776.

When? Cite sources immediately after mentioning their information in any way (quotations, summaries, paraphrases).

DOCUMENTATION Styles GuidesDifferent professional communities use different style guides, that include rules for documentation, organization, style, and formatting.

Ask your teachers which guide they want you to use.

Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Guide

English Studies - Language and LiteratureForeign Language and Literatures

American Psychological Association (APA) Style Guide

Social SciencesNursing

Chicago Style Guide

Literature, history, and the artsSciencesSocial sciences

IN-TEXT CITATIONS

MLA uses parenthetical, in-text citations• Author and page number• Title and page number• Page number only• No page number available

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IN-TEXT CITATIONS

Author and Page NumberREQUIRED INFORMATION• Author’s last name and page number (or range of pages)

in parenthesis.

EXAMPLE

Symbolic reasoning helped the brain evolve quickly through the development of words and language (Medina 34).

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IN-TEXT CITATIONS

Title and Page NumberREQUIRED INFORMATION

When there is no author identified, use the first few words of the title and page number in parenthesis.

EXAMPLE

By 2004, ten nations were expected to join the fifteen that comprised the European Union (“The World Almanac” 202).

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IN-TEXT CITATIONS

Page Number OnlyREQUIRED INFORMATION

When the author is identified within the text, include the page number only in parenthesis.

EXAMPLE

In Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, John Medina identifies the “nap zone” as a period of time in the mid-afternoon when humans naturally feel sleepy (159).

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IN-TEXT CITATIONS

No Page Number AvailableREQUIRED INFORMATION

When a resource doesn’t use page numbers, identify the work by author’s last name or title in parenthesis.

EXAMPLE - eBook

Humans rationalize their bad behavior to fool themselves into thinking it is acceptable (Rosenberg, ch. 2).

EXAMPLE – scholarly article accessed electronically

The brain’s ability to conserve energy allows it to outperform robotic technology (Sejnowski).

EXAMPLE - webpage

San Benito Junior College opened its doors in 1919 and became Gavilan Community College in 1966 (“History”).

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IN-TEXT CITATIONS

Let’s Practice!Below are the Works Cited entry for John Medina’s Brain Rules and two sentences you included in your paper which refer to his ideas. Show how you would correctly cite this information.

Medina, John. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle: Pear Press, 2008. Print.

 

From page 85:

From page 240:

Although people often claim they multitask, the human brain can only do one thing at a time (Medina 85).Although people often claim they multitask, the human brain can only do one thing at a time.

Medina claims that “Vision is by far our most dominant sense, taking up half of our brain’s resource.”Medina claims that “Vision is by far our most dominant sense, taking up half of our brain’s resource” (240).

GAVILAN LIBRARYRESEARCH DATABASES

• Gavilan library subscribes to databases for scholarly research.

• Research databases often provide MLA formatted citations that can be copied into your paper.

• Students have access through the library website (http://www.gavilan.edu/library/) with a student ID or library card.

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GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES

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GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES

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GAVILAN LIBRARY RESEARCH DATABASES

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WORKS CITED

• Formatting works cited is specific and dependent on the type of reference material.

• There are many resources available in print and on the internet.

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WORKS CITED

MLA Format - BOOKSFORMAT

Author. Title. City: Publisher, date. Format.

EXAMPLE: Printed Book

Medina, John. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle: Pear Press, 2008. Print.

EXAMPLE: eBook

Rosenberg, Tina. Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. n. pag. Kindle file.

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WORKS CITED

MLA Format - WEBSITESFORMAT

Author or organization. “Title of Section, if given.” Title of the Website. Sponsoring organization or publisher. Date of publication or last revision. Web. Date your viewed it.

EXAMPLE

“History of Gavilan College.” Gavilan College. Gavilan College. 26 Aug. 2011. Web. 26 Sep. 2012.

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WORKS CITED

MLA Format – SCHOLARLY ARTICLE

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NOTE: For articles originally in print found through the library computer system, include the information service.

NOTE: Double check citation provided from information service for correct formatting.

FORMAT

Author or Organization. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal. Volume number. Issue number (Year): pages covered by article. Information service. Format. Date viewed if online.

EXAMPLE

Sejnowski, Terry, and Tobi Delbruck. "The Language Of The

Brain." Scientific American 307.4 (2012): 54-59. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 30 Sept. 2012.

CORRECTED EXAMPLE

Sejnowski, Terry, and Tobi Delbruck. "The Language of the

Brain." Scientific American 307.4 (2012): 54-59. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 30 Sept. 2012.

WORKS CITED

Let’s PracticeIn your paper you have cited the Kindle edition of Until Tuesday by Luis Carlos Montalván. You have looked up the correct format for book:

Author. Title. City: Publisher, date. Format.

Create a correctly formatted entry for your works cited page.

Montalván, Luis Carlos. Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him. New York: Hyperion, 2011. Kindle file.

• Page is double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point.

• Last name and page number is in the upper right corner of the header..

• “Works Cited” is centered and the first line of the page

• Works are alphabetized by authors’ last names.

• 1st line of each entry begins at left margin.

• Subsequent lines are indented ½ inch.

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WORKS CITED

MLA Format – Sample Works Cited Page

1” ½ ”

MLA RESOURCES

• There are many resources available to guide you through formatting citations.

• You should always have one handy when working with reference material.

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MLA FORMAT RESOURCES

Reference Books & Websites

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MLA FORMAT RESOURCES

Gavilan College Writing Center• Writing Assistants trained to guide you through citing

sources and formatting a Works Cited page• Computers available to access research databases• Helpful advice for MLA reference books and websites• Schedule an appointment or drop in• Hours: Monday thru Thursday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Friday 8:00 AM-1:00 PM• Phone: (408)848-4811

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