Documentation of Sources CITING YOUR SOURCES!

Does parenthetical notation have to be used? You must always give credit to the sources of your information or you will be guilty of plagiarism.

How do I decide when to document information in my research paper? Any fact, quote, paraphrase or other information that is not common knowledge needs to be documented with parenthetical notation.

A quote is the exact wording of the source material (either written or spoken). Quotes match the original source word for word. A paraphrase is a detailed restatement in your own words of a written or sometimes spoken source material. A summary is a condensed version of a passage. Similar to paraphrasing, summarizing involves using your own words and writing style to express another author's ideas. Unlike the paraphrase, which presents important details, the summary presents only the most important ideas of the passage.

What is Parenthetical Notation? Basically, parenthetical notation is notes inside parentheses. Students use parenthetical notation in the text of their research papers to give credit to authors for information that is not common knowledge

What is “common knowledge” Common knowledge refers to the information that most people would know without doing research. Common knowledge can be a “gray” area. If you are not sure if information is common knowledge, check with your teacher while you are writing the paper.

Examples of common knowledge The earth revolves around the sun. George Washington was our first president. Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s dad. Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil War. Plagiarism is wrong.

Examples of information that would need to be documented. In the 1906 earthquake, 365,415 people were left homeless in San Francisco. Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States Constitution. Zithers and psalteries are stringed instruments with shallow sound boxes.

What does parenthetical notation look like? Most often, parenthetical notation will consist of an author’s last name and a page number, like this: (Smith 21). Or the title of an article or web site, like this: (“The Louisiana Purchase”) or (The Louisiana Purchase)

90% of parenthetical notation will fall into these two categories: author’s last name and a page number if a page is given or 2) The title of an article or web site, if the author’s name is unknown.

Where do I put parenthetical notation? Parenthetical notation goes AFTER the information that needs to be cited. If all information in one paragraph came from one source and the same page, then you only need to cite the source once, at the end of the paragraph. Cite all sources in a paragraph before starting a new paragraph.

Single author named in parentheses. The tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences is referred to as a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (Sennett 11). Single author named in a signal phrase. Social historian Richard Sennett names the tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (11). Works with no author. Several critics of the concept of the transparent society ask if a large society would be able to handle the complete loss of privacy ("Surveillance Society" 115).

If giving a title, do I underline? If it is a newspaper or magazine article, use quotation marks. (“The 9/11 Tragedy” 32) Include page number if given. If it is the title of a web site, underline. (The 9/11 Tragedy).

How else can I document my source? Example: According to Smith’s article on the 9/11 tragedy, page 32, the FBI had been informed of a growing threat against American interests. or Example: According to Smith, the FBI knew about the threat (32).

What about the other types of documentation that aren’t so simple? For more information on documenting your sources, you would need to refer to your teacher or the MLA Handbook MLA (Modern Language Association) Most high schools and colleges adhere to the MLA guidelines for rules on writing research papers