Please Use MLA Citations For Your Essay. Failure To Do So Will Cost You Points MLA Citation Guide: A Sample Essay Knowing the proper way to integrate and cite sources in MLA style is a skill that you will carry with you throughout your college career. While this handout covers the basics of integrating quotations and citing sources, there is still much to learn, so it is suggested that you buy an up-to-date writer’s guide. As any seasoned writer could tell you, you should “not try to rely on memory; instead, always look up instructions and follow examples” (Raimes 96). A good guide will prove useful even after you’ve finished the class for which you originally needed it because most provide information on punctuation, grammar, research, and other styles like APA and CMS. In the rest of the essay, look for superscripted numbers next to parenthetical citations; these references will correspond to a bibliographic entry so you can better see their connection. Whenever you quote or paraphrase a source, you must cite that source; however, your “common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations or common knowledge” (Kunka and Barbato)1. As with the passage just quoted, sources can be embedded into you own idea to strengthen them. Lead up to the quotation with your own works and then use the passage to continue the thought. When using an in-text citation, you want to provide the necessary documentation in parenthesizes so your reader can identify them in the works cited page; the parenthetical citation should always be the first part of a bibliographic entry found in a works cited page or bibliography. For the most part, you should use an author’s last name followed by a page number (Raimes 97)2, but when a portion of the standard citation is missing, start with next available part. For example, many websites don’t have authors or page numbers, so cite an abbreviated version title of the work if an author is not listed (“MLA Citation”)3. According to Anson, Schwegler, and Muth, the following are the four main types of sources you can cite: books, articles and selections, field and media resources, and electronic resources (271)4. Since the authors names are embedded into the previous paraphrase, there is no need to mention them in the parenthetical citation. Book citations generally include the authors, title in italics or underline, and publication information (277)4. Periodical citation use authors, the article title in quotation marks, title of periodical in italics, and publication information (281)4. The publication information can include “volume number (and sometimes issue number), year of publication, and page numbers” (281)4 as in the following example: Adams, Jessica. “Local Color: The Southern Plantation in Popular culture.” Cultural Critique 42.1 (1999): 171-87. (282)4 A blocked quotation, as in the one above, should be used when a quotation goes over four lines or when you want to preserve the indentations of the original work. Set the blocked quotation ten spaces from the margin, leave out the quotation marks, and set up the quotation with a colon. The citation formats of field and media resources such as audio recordings and unpublished interviews are more complicated, so consulting a writer’s guide may be the best alternative. Internet sources can be complicated as well, but when writing a bibliographic entry, try to ascertain as much of the following information and enter them in this order: author, title of work, print publication information (only if the material originally appeared in print), title of the site, date of original publication, sponsor of the website, the date that you accessed the information, and the url (Raimes 114-115)2. Even though a lot of the information given above may seem convoluted, use the works cited section below to see how you see the how this information is used. It is our hope at the Writing Center that this sample essay will help clear things up on how to use MLA documentation. Works Cited 4Anson, Chris. M, Robert A. Schwegler, and Marcia F. Muth. The Longman Writer’s Companion. 2nd ed. New York: Longman, 2003. 1Kunka, Jennifer Liethen and Joe Barbato. “In-Text Citations: The Basics.” The OWL at Purdue. 26 Jan. 2008. Purdue University. 4 Feb. 2008. . 3“MLA Citation Guide.” Ohio State University Libraries. 1 Jan. 2008. Ohio State. 11 Feb. 2008. . 2Raimes, Ann. Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. NOTE: Dont forget to comment on your classmates essays. Dont forget to include links. Visit at least two of your classmates’ essay postings on Wednesday, November 19th and share a comment on what their essay focused on. Feel free to agree or disagree but don’t be disrespectful in your comments.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 03:04:03 +0000
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