1. In-Text Citations MLA Formatting Guide The Basics

2. When and Why to Cite O When? You cite a source whenever you are directly quoting or paraphrasing the words or ideas of someone else. O Why? This enables your audience, teacher, professor, to know that you are being academically honest. It prevents you of plagiarizing. Plagiarism is a serious offense that can result in serious consequences, including failing a course and removal from college. Citations also promote and allow individuals in the academic community to share resources.

3. How do you cite your sources? O You must provide information that leads your reader directly to the source as it appears in your Works Cited page. This information can be provided in the actual sentence itself or at the end of the sentence in what is called a parenthetical citation. O In a parenthetical citation, you provide the first piece of information that appears in the Works Cited page, typically the author’s last name or the first two or three words of the title of the source (when no author is given). A page number is also included when available.

4. When do you need a parenthetical citation? O When you are citing someone else’s work and/or words. O When you do not provide enough information within the sentence to link your reader to the correct entry in your Works Cited page.

5. How do you cite your sources? To determine if I have cited correctly, check the Works Cited page. Can you quickly and easily find the sources used in each of the above statements? O To help his daughter get along better with her new teacher Miss Caroline, Atticus tells Scout that she needs to learn how “to climb into the skin of another” (Lee 33). Here is the Works Cited entry for this source. It is a perfect match. O Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print.

6. How do you cite your sources? To determine if I have cited correctly, check the Works Cited page. Can you quickly and easily find the sources used in each of the above statements? O Award-winning children’s author Tanya Landman argues that although To Kill a Mockingbird is a “masterpiece” it is, in her opinion, a racist text. Here is the entry for this source. It is also a match: Landman, Tanya. "Is To Kill a Mockingbird a Racist Book?" Editorial. The Guaridan. The Guardian, 20 Oct. 2015. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.

7. How do you cite your sources? O If you provide the information that will directly lead your reader to the correct source as it is listed in your Works Cited, then there is no need to include a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. O It gets tricky is when you are quoting someone who is not listed as the author of the source. This is true for the documentary and the individual essays written by those individuals featured in the documentary. See the next slide for an example of how to handle this in your paper.

8. When do you use “qtd. in”? O For example, I read an essay by the author James McBride, but it was in published in Mary McDonough Murphy’s book Scout and Atticus and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill A Mockingbird. Author James McBride argues, “I think the challenge she laid out for us, the writers who follow in her wake, is to make sure that the various dimensions of these stories are told properly, and that we stand up in our own time to talk about issues that count now”(qtd. in Murphy 81.).

9. How do you cite your sources? Other tricky situations can arise. For example: O What if you have two sources by the same author? O What if you have multiple authors for a source? What do you do if you are not sure how to cite a source? O Use the OWL Purdue link on Moodle to look up special cases, or ask for help.

10. Do you cite common knowledge? If certain basic information appears in three or more sources, then it can be considered common knowledge and does not require a citation within the sentence or a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. This can be a tricky call to make. When in doubt, cite.

11. Can you use one citation at the end of a paragraph? Yes, but do not do this in every paragraph. If all of the information found in a paragraph traces back to the same source, then use one citation at the end of that paragraph. Ideally, you want to use more than one source in your paragraphs to demonstrate your ability to weave your research into a coherent argument, but there are times when this type of citation cannot be avoided.

12. Reminders: Introducing a Quotation O Do not float a quote. O In other words, always introduce the speaker or writer first. O Indicate who or what is important about the speaker/writer.

13. Longer Quotations O Use long quotations sparingly. O Partial quotations are helpful. You can embed them into your own sentence. O But if you do have a quotation longer than 3 lines of text, you need to format it differently from other quotations. See the next two slides for more about block formatting.

14. Longer Quotations For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse: O Place quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. O Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin; maintain double-spacing. O Only indent the first line of the quotation by an additional quarter inch if you are citing multiple paragraphs. O Your parenthetical citation should come after the period.

15. Example of Block Formatting: Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)