Citing Sources According to the MLA Guidelines0

Citing Sources According to the MLA GuidelinesIn order to avoid charges of plagiarism, it is essential that you acknowledge the use of others‟ words, ideas, images or data in your academic assignments. According to the Modern Language Association‟s (MLA) guidelines, you must document the use of others‟ work using both parenthetical citations in the text of your essay and a Works Cited list at the end of your essay.What to Cite: You must include a parenthetical citation and an entry in your Works Cited list whenever you use another person‟s words, ideas, or explanations in your essay.What Not to Cite:∙Common knowledge or facts that you can find in a variety of sources. e.g., Queen Elizabeth II‟s birthday∙Material discussed in class (unless you are instructed otherwise)∙Your own ideas.∙If in doubt, cite! It is always better to err on the side of caution.Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism:∙Take careful notes and keep track of what you have read in order to avoid accidental plagiarism.∙Stay away from online essay mills!∙Whenever possible, use and cite reputable, peer-reviewed sources. e.g., books, journal articles.∙If you do use the Internet to get information or ideas for your essay, you must cite and reference your sources.∙NEVER hire someone to write your essay, and NEVER offer to write an essay for someone else.MLA Guidelines: The following information has been adapted from the University of Saskatchewan‟s Department of English Requirements for Essays: see ask.ca/english/pdf/RequirementsForEssays.pdfTitles: Underline or italicize the titles of works published independently, including books, plays, and long poems published as books. e.g., Sir Gawain and the Green KnightUse quotation marks for the titles of works published within larger works, including articles, essays, short stories, and short poems. e.g., “Jabberwocky”In-text citations:Words taken from the text are indicated by double quotation marks, followed by parenthesescontaining the page number(s) if you are citing from a novel (like Frankenstein) or the line number(s) if you are citing from a poem (like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight). A paraphrase of the text must also be followed by a parenthetical citation. Note that the author‟s name is included in parentheses only when it has not been made clear in the preceding words or sentences:ACCEPTABLE: One critic notes that Anna Jameson contributed to ethnography by transcribingAnishinaabe oral tales (Roy 13).BETTER: Wendy Roy notes that Anna Jameson contributed to ethnography by transcribingAnishinaabe oral tales (13).Introducing Quotations: All quotations must be integrated into your own writing. Here are some general rules: ∙Introduce your quotations so that your reader knows why you have chosen them.∙Use brief quotations within your own sentences rather than long passages∙Integrate the grammar of your quotation into the grammar of your sentences.∙Be accurate. Double check your quotations to make sure you have quoted correctly.∙Always introduce your quotations with a brief, contextualizing phrase or sentence:e.g., Atwood‟s pioneer “impose[s] himself with shovels” (11).∙If you change words or letters in the quotation, indicate these changes using square brackets.∙If you omit words from the middle of a quotation, indicate the omission with an ellipsis (...)e.g., By offering to help Lucy, Elinor “profited by the first of these proposals, . . . gained her own end, and pleased Lady Middleton at the same time” (171).Punctuating Quotations:∙ If you introduce a quotation with a complete sentence, that sentence should end with a colon.e.g., Atwood's poem makes writing and speech a metaphor for working the land: “He asserted / into the furrows” (12-13). ∙Note that final punctuation (a period) comes AFTER your parenthetical citation.∙If you introduce a quotation with a sentence fragment (a phrase that cannot stand on its own), usea) a commae.g., For Robert, “Harris said the strangest things—lying on his pillows staring at the ceiling” (95).b)no punctuatione.g., Robert th inks Harris “said the strangest things—lying on his pillows staring at the ceiling” (95).∙The grammatical context of your sentence will determine what method of punctuation you use.Quoting Poetry:∙Short quotations of up to three lines should be incorporated into a sentence.∙Indicate line breaks as they appear in the original using a forward slash / with a space on either side. e.g., In Shelley‟s “Ode to the West Wind,” the speaker calls repeatedly to the wind to hear him: “Wild Spirit, which art movingeverywhere; / Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh, hear!” (13-14).∙Quotations of more than three lines of poetry must appear in your essay exactly as they appear in the text. Indent the quotation 10 spaces, do not use quotation marks, and include any final punctuation at the end before giving theparenthetical citation.∙If you omit lines from the middle of your quotation, indicate this using an ellipsis (…).e.g., The speaker in Gray‟s poem describes a cat falling into a tub of goldfishes:Presumptuous Maid! With looks intentAgain she stretch‟d, again she bent,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The slipp‟ry verge her feet beguil‟d.She tumbled headlong in. (25-30)Quoting Prose:∙Short quotations of up to four lines of prose appear within quotation marks as part of your sentences and paragraphs.e.g., Many of Munro's heroines have remarkable aunts. Del's, in middle age, can still "jump up so quickly [and] . . . still smelled fresh and healthy" (34).∙Quotations of more than four typed lines should begin on a new line, be indented from the left margin ten spaces, and be double-spaced without quotation marks.e.g. The storyteller of Sunshine Sketches expects readers to agree that Mariposa represents all small towns in Canada:I don't know whether you know Mariposa. If not, it is of no consequence, for if you know Canada at all, you areprobably well acquainted with a dozen towns just like it. There it lies in the sunlight, sloping up from the little lake that spreads out at the foot of the hillside on which the town is built. (13)Quoting More than One Author:If you quote from different works by different authors, indicate this either by using the authors‟ names in your sentences or by placing the name before the page number in the parentheses. Note that there is only a space—no punctuation—between the author‟s name and the page number.e.g., Jane Austen is said to have fainted at the sudden news of the move to Bath (Honan 155), but a letter to Cassandra in early Jan uary shows Austen “more & more reconciled to the idea” of leaving Steventon (Austen 68).The Works Cited List∙List your sources as Works Cited, not as a Bibliography. If your list of sources includes works not cited in your paper, the title should be Works Consulted.∙Your text and parenthetical references should enable your reader to locate a source in the works-cited list at the end of your essay.∙The list should start on a new page. Entries are in alphabetical order by last name of author. Other works by the same author are listed alphabetically by title.∙Indicate the medium of each entry. Print is indicated simply by the word print.A book with one author∙Give author (last name, first name), title (italicized), city of publication, name of press, year of publication, and the medium.Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. 2 Vols. New York: Random House, 1996. Print.∙If the book does not have an author, begin the entry with the title of the book (do not list the author as …Anonymous‟).Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Ed. and Trans. Bernard O‟Donoghue. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.∙ A Work in an Anthology: Entries for works from an anthology must first give the author and title of the item you have cited in your essay, then the title of the antholo gy (underlined or italicized) followed by “Ed.” (meaning “Edited by”), and then the names of the editors in standard order. If the work you are citing comes from a print anthology, place of publication, publisher, and date of publication follow, and then, after a period, give theopening and closing pages of the item as found in the anthology and identify the medium (print).∙If you are citing from an online anthology (such as Representative Poetry Online), begin with the name of the author, the title of the poem (in quotation marks), the name of the anthology (in italics), followed by the name of the editor(s). If there is more than one editor, use “Eds.” rather than “Ed.” Then list the online publisher (in this case, U of Toronto) and the date of publication within the online anthology (2009). Finally, identify the medium of the source (Web) and the date you accessed the poem.Carroll, Lewis. “Jabberwocky.” Representative Poetry Online. Ed. Ian Lancashire. U of Toronto.2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2009.∙Note: If your entry is more than one line long, indent each subsequent line of that entry.For other types of entries, please consult the “MLA” section of A Canadian Writer’s Reference or the University of Saskatchewan‟s Requirements for Essays website: ask.ca/english/pdf/RequirementsForEssays.pdf。