MLA In-TEXT CITATIONS

Let’s make some citations… Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite Helmers, eds. Defining Visual Rhetorics. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. Print. Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Not sure what to do, check out that Purdue Owl!

In Text Citations Introduce it – cite it – explain it! When working with quotes you need to do three things: Introduce – you cannot just stick a quote in randomly (ie: dropping a quote). It needs to be integrated into your writing with a signal phrase or seamless transition. Cite Explain – you must tie the quote back into your thesis/topic sentence. Explain why you’ve included it. In the epic, Achilles talks about Agamemnon and says, “he will soon pay for his arrogance with his life” (246). This shows Achilles’ anger and his willingness to fight to the death.

Other examples… DROPPED QUOTE: In 2000, the legislature of Suffolk County passed a law restricting drivers’ use of handled phones. “The bill prohibits the use of a cell phone while driving unless it is equipped with an earpiece or can act like a speakerphone, leaving the driver’s hands free” (Kelley 1). QUOTE WITH A SIGNAL PHRASE: In 2000, the legislature of Suffolk County passed a law restricting drivers’ use of handled phones. According to journalist Tina Kelley, “The bill prohibits the use of a cell phone while driving unless it is equipped with an earpiece or can act like a speakerphone, leaving the driver’s hands free” (1). QUOTE WITH SEAMLESS INTEGRATION: In 2000, the legislature of Suffolk County passed a law which “prohibits the use of a cell phone while driving unless it is equipped with an earpiece or can act like a speakerphone” (Kelley 1).

In Text Citations Depending on what type of resource you’re working with, your citation will change…. If It’s a book: You put the author’s last name and page number If it’s an article or journal, you’ll use the author’s last name and page number With poems or plays, you use the line numbers instead of the page number and with audio/video you use the ticker count instead When there is no author, you use the title – properly formatted! If it’s a long title…. Typically use just up to the first preposition “The Sad Situation of the Long Locks Teddy Bears”  “The Sad Situation” Just remember: the point of the in-text citation is so that the reader can easily and quickly locate the source on your Works Cited page and find the information within that source. Parenthesis always go outside the quote, but inside the period. When writing about more than one text, you use the author’s last name and the page number. No commas, No p. or pp. or pg.

Miscellaneous Info… Brackets: [ ] allow you to insert your own words to clarify or maintain tense Ellipsis: The three spaced dots can be used to show you’ve omitted information – but what remains must be grammatically correct Long Quotations When the quote is more than four typed lines, it needs to be blocked. Introduce the quote with a signal phrase and : instead of , and then on the new line of your essay you will indent (10 spaces) each line or prose, concluded with a citation outside the punctuation. Then, on a new line, resume your paper.

Miscellaneous Info… Names: If you aren’t on a causal, friendly basis with someone, you CANNOT refer to them by their first name alone. Acronyms: You must first write out the title, followed by () with the acronym. From then on you may use just the acronym: The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is a … The YMCA provides… etc. Abbreviations, ampersands and backslashes: nope, nope, nope. Numbers: 0-9 should be written out (zero to nine) and anything over that can be placed in numbers (10 and up). Exception: when you’re starting a sentence with a number, it must always be written out.

Works Cited page… You need to put this at the end of your essay – everything in one document, paginated properly Double check that everything is formatted properly Header Works Cited Handing indentation Alphabetical As with everything…. Double check with the Purdue OWL. You will print one copy to hand in with your rubric