In Text Citations

Integrating notes into text Always provide context for your notes. Introduce them with your own ideas and say something about them. Use them to support, prove, and illustrate your ideas. You will cite your sources within your own text. These are called in-text citations. In-text citations are brief references that link to complete bibliographic information in the works cited. Whenever possible, use a combination of signal phrases and parenthentical citations. A signal phrase comes before the researched material. It names the author or source, also gives brief information to establish credibility. (See “MLA Papers” MLA-3, b.) A parenthetical citation comes at the end of the researched material. It provides brief information that links to the works cited entry. Most often, it will consist of an author or title, and if a print source, page number. For more information, see your “MLA Papers” handout and/or the following website: In-text Citations--hackerhandbooks.com

Examples of in-text citation—signal phrase Black---original text (author of research paper) Blue—researched material (from note cards) Red—in-text citations (signal phrases and parenthetical documentation) Signal Phrases: Sexting is a term that is relatively new. New York Times reporter Jan Hoffman, who specializes in reporting on issues affecting adolescents, defines sexting as "an imprecise term that refers to sending sexual photos, videos or texts from one cellphone to another.“ According to the online version of the Oxford Dictionary, it is “the sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone.” What both these definitions of sexting have in common is that the messages are sexual in nature and that they are sent from one cell phone to another. Does this mean that only the sender, but not the receiver, of the message is guilty of sexting? What might cause a young girl to put herself in a situation where she would send such a message to a boy and risk her reputation? Parenthetical Citation: One cause of sexting may be a desire for positive attention in young girls who feel isolated and unhappy. For instance, one middle school girl who made a decision to send a sext that quickly went viral at her school and had disastrous consequences was Margarite. After the event occurred, Margarite’s mother guessed her daughter's unhappiness and loneliness had caused her to send a nude photo to Isiah, a boy she liked who was paying attention to her (Hoffman). Many factors contributed to Margarite’s unhappiness. Her parents were divorced. She lived with her father but did not get along with her stepmother. At school, her grades were slipping. Socially, she was not doing well either. She had lost one of her good friends (the girl who first forwarded Margarite’s picture to others), partly because of a fight over a boy. Margarite lost more friends because of this situation, and she was soon eating lunch all alone at school. As a result of the loss of her friends, she spent her free time home alone with her phone and computer (Hoffman). This combination of problems would be difficult for any middle school student to face. Works Cited Entry: Hoffman, Jan. "A Girl’s Nude Photo, and Altered Lives." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 26 Mar. 2011. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/>.