Citations

Citations play an important role in research paper. Their purpose is to offer precise documentation of where you obtained the information necessary to write your own paper. Remember that citations are need in the following situations:

• After sentences containing direct quotes
• After sentences containing statistical data
• After sentences containing vocabulary definitions
• After a paragraph containing material paraphrased from a specific source

MLA (Modern Language Association) style requires the use of parenthetical references within the text of your paper. This acknowledges that the words, facts, or ideas have been previously used by another source.

To complete your citation, place the necessary information in parentheses following the noted sentence or paragraph. These examples will get you started; see me if your type of source is not shown or other questions arise. You can also find help at http://citationmachine.net/index.php?new_style=1#here or www.mla.org

• For books with one author

(Last name of author, page where information was found)

i.e. (Smith 67)

• For books with more than one author

(Last names of all authors, page where information was found)

i.e. (Smith, Jones 12)

• For sources without authors

(Title of source, shortened or in full, page where information was found)

i.e. (“John Scopes”, 94-96)

• For electronic sources

(Title of entry)

i.e. (“The Scopes Monkey Trial”)

• For definitions

(“Entry,” definition #)

i.e. (“Propaganda,” def. 3a)