Writing: Process and Mechanics
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What is a Parenthetical Citation?
What if I cite more than one work by an author?
What if the source I cite has more than one author?
What if my source has no author listed?
What if two of my sources have the same last name?
What if the idea I'm citing appears in articles by different authors?
What if my source comes from the Internet and has no page numbers?
Can all my research be done on the Web?
What do I put on the Works Cited entry for a book?
What if I cite an essay in an anthology of essays?
What if my source comes from a library database?
What if my source comes from the Internet?
What if I cite a video or DVD?
What if I cite a religious text?
How do I cite the religious text in the paper?
Do I have to turn in copies of my sources?
Authors who write papers in the field of English and literature rely on the documentation style devised by the Modern Language Association (MLA) to indicate their sources. That style, at its most basic, comprises signal phrases, parenthetical citations, and a Works Cited page.
Citations show that information, language, or simply the idea in your sentence comes from an outside source.
The key to MLA style is to provide an easy, consistent way for readers to:
· know as they are reading your paper exactly where an idea originates
· move easily from your text to the Works Cited entry to the source material itself
Do not use a cover page. The first page of your paper should be set up like this with your name in place of Scully:
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Scully 1 Dana Scully M. Adkerson Comp 1 12 Nov. 2009 UFOs: The Spiritual Visions Indent each paragraph. The first paragraph begins on the first page of the paper. There is no cover page. Double-space the paper from top to bottom, but do not put an extra line space between paragraphs. (You may, if you wish, single-space the title and any block-indented quotations.)
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Note: The dating style is European (day month year-no commas). Use this style for dates in the Works Cited entries, as well. Abbreviate each month as shown (except the three bolded):
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
A signal phrase (see underlined examples below) introduces an outside idea by naming the author or source in the same sentence in which the idea is stated. If the author is named in the sentence, the author's name does not appear in the parenthetical citation.
Use the author's full name the first time you refer to the author in your paper; after that, use only the author's last name.
According to Tyler Moore, use quotations only when they are "especially vivid" (46).
As Moore notes, quotations should be used only when they are "memorable" (234).
Stephen King tells us that scary movies keep us sane (78).
"Whatever approach you take," writes Samantha Stevens, "find magic in life" (48).
MLA style requires the writer to point to the source from within the text (rather than with a footnote or endnote). Specifically, the citation to the source appears in an abbreviated fashion inside parentheses.
The parenthetical citation may appear at the end of a sentence, at the end of several sentences that all point to the same outside source, or at the end of a paragraph when all the sentences in that paragraph point to an outside source.
Parenthetical citations must appear even when all the words are yours but the idea or data comes from your research.
The parenthetical citation leads the reader directly to the Works Cited entry for the source; the WC entry is where more information about the source is available.
Grammar guru Tyler Moore tells us to use quotations only when they are "especially vivid" (46).
(signal phrase) (parenthetical citation)
Quotations are best used when the source's words are "especially vivid" (Moore 87).
(parenthetical citation)
When a signal phrase is used (that is, the author is named in your sentence), only the page number needs to appear in the parenthetical. The page number tells the reader what specific page(s) the information in your sentence (or sentences or paragraph) appears on. (Other necessary information is on the Works Cited entry.)
When a signal phrase is not used, put the author's last name and the page number(s) in the parenthetical. Parenthetical citations, at their most basic, rely on the following two elements:
(Moore 87)
(author's last name page number)
· Don't use "p." or "pp." In MLA style, the number in the parenthetical refers to pages.
· Don't use a comma between the author's last name and the page number. Use one space.
· Be sure to cite the original source, even if you don't quote any of it:
Quotations should be used only when they are particularly memorable or powerful (Moore 78).
What if I cite more than one work by an author?
If you cite two or more works by the same author (for instance, if you are citing to Danse Macabre and It, both books by Stephen King), introduce the author in a signal phrase, then include a portion of the title in the parenthetical so the reader can distinguish between the two works.
Stephen King tells us that the horror story is vital to our human development (Danse 387).
If the abbreviated title you put in the parenthetical refers to a long work, italicize or underline it. If it refers to a short work, put it in quotation marks.
If your citation is to a source written by two or three authors, name the authors in the signal phrase and just put the page number in the parenthetical.
In Black House, Stephen King and Peter Straub together conclude that the past never really dies (142).
If your citation is to a source written by four or more authors, you may write all the names, but you may choose a shorter route: Refer to the authors by using the first name listed, then the Latin word et al. (In the example below, "Darby" is the last name of the first author named in the study.)
One study does seem to support King's contention (Darby et al. 22).
A study by Richard Darby et al. supports King's contention (22-25).
Note: There is no period after et in et al. Et is not an abbreviation. It is the Latin word for and. There is a period after al. That word is an abbreviation for the Latin word alii, which means others. The abbreviation et al. means and others. Because et al. is Latin (a foreign word), italicize or underline it.
Regardless how many authors are listed in a source, list them in the same order they appear.
If the author is unknown, move to the next element in the Works Cited entry to identify the source: the title of the work being cited. (The example below cites to a newspaper editorial that has no author named.)
Regardless whether King or Darby et al. are correct, one recent editorial disagrees with all of them ("Horror Sucks!" E2).
Note: The example above cites a newspaper editorial, so the page follows the numbering used by the newspaper (the section of the paper and the page of that section). Note, too, that a newspaper article is a short form, so the title appears in quotation marks. The exclamation point is part of the title. (The title of the newspaper is underlined or italicized on the Works Cited page.)
If two or more sources that you cite in the paper have the same last name, use the author's full name in the signal phrase or parenthetical citation. For instance, if you cite in one place to Robert Smith and in another place to Jenna Smith, here's an example of your parenthetical for the latter: (Jenna Smith 39).
If you are writing about an idea that appears in multiple sources, cite all those sources in the parenthetical. (Avoid doing this too much; instead, break up your discussion and organize your information.) Separate each source with a semicolon.
Most writers, though their interpretations of the evidence may differ, agree that horror stories have a powerful effect on their audience (King Danse 38; Darby et al. 3; "Horror Sucks!" E2).
Since Internet sources often have no page numbers, you may have to rely on another numbering system to document your citations (such as paragraph or section numbers — if the source uses them). If the source has no numbering system at all, omit the page number from your parenthetical.
· Use the author and page number, like any other citation, if that information is available (for instance, if the website provides the information on a pdf.
· Most web sources have no page numbers.
Note: Do not use the page numbers that appear on the upper right corners of the pages you print when you print an Internet article. Those change depending on your program and printer.
If no author is named, go to the next element, the title of the article.
The ACLU fought to defeat Proposition 173 ("Hate Speech").
No author and no page number appear on the article, so go to the next element, the title of the article.
On its website page about "Hate Speech," the ACLU discusses its efforts to defeat Proposition 173.
The title appears in the text, so there's no need for a parenthetical.
Can all my research be done on the Web?
One website counts as one source (of the minimum number of required sources) even if you use more than one article from that site.
The library databases (SIRS, EBSCOhost, etc.) offer thousands of articles from periodicals. You may do all of your research using these databases; they are not considered website sources.
The Works Cited page of your paper documents just the sources you actually use in your paper, the sources you quote, paraphrase, or summarize. (You should research many sources — 20 or 30 — but the Works Cited page includes only those sources you cite in your paper.)
The Works Cited page appears on the page just after the paper's last page. That is, if your paper ends halfway down page 6, the Works Cited page begins at the top of page 7. Retain the paper's numbering system. The top of the last page of your paper should look like this (with your last name in place of Scully):
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Scully 7 Works Cited Bacon, Francis. "The Four Idols." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. 6th ed. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford, 2002. 417-31. Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2003.
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Double-space the Works Cited page, just like you do the rest of the paper.
Begin the first line of each entry at the left margin. Indent all subsequent lines of the entry one tab (5 spaces).
Alphabetize Works Cited entries by the first word in each entry (usually the author's last name. If the first word is a title beginning with an article (a, an, the), alphabetize by the second word.)
Do not number the entries.
Put quotation marks around short titles (magazine article, chapter title, television episode, poem, or song). Underline or italicize long titles (magazine, newspaper, book, television series, or film).
The book is the model for the basic Works Cited entry. The entry includes the following basic elements (these appear on the title page and the back of the title page of a book)
· author (last name first)
· title
· publication data:
· place of publication (use the first U.S. city listed)
· publisher (use a short form — "Random" for "Random House")
· copyright date (use the most recent date if multiple dates appear)
Put a period between the major elements.
Put a colon and space between the city and publisher.
Put a comma and space between the publisher and date.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2003.
If you cite a short work from an anthology (a compilation of short works usually by different authors, begin with the essay or story you are citing, then include the title of the anthology and the editor.
Jung, Carl. "The Personal and the Collective Unconscious." A
World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. 7th ed.
Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford, 2006. 486-96.
· Put quotation marks around the first title (the shorter work) and underline or italicize the second title (the longer work).
· At the end of the entry, put the range of pages on which the short work appears. In your paper, cite to a specific page or pages within that range of pages.
Do
not cite to the headnotes or
editorial introduction to an essay.
What if my source comes from a library database?
Sources culled from a library's subscription databases (such as EBSCO, SIRS, or TEL) follow the basic format of any periodical citation, with these additions:
· The name of the database, underlined or italicized
· The name of the service (no underlining, etc.)
· The name and location of the library
· The date you printed the article
"Matrix Myths." U.S. Catholic 68.10 (Oct. 2003): 5. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. NSCC Kisber Lib., Nashville, TN. 12 Feb. 2004.
Note:
· In the example above, no author is listed on the source, so the first element is the title of the article.
· If no page numbers are provided, use [n.p.].
· Be sure the necessary data is on your printout; write it there, if necessary.
If your source comes from the Net (not a subscription database), cite it as you would any other source except add the URL. Begin with "www"; if there is no "www," begin with "http://."
Be sure to include the date of the article's copyright, publication, or last revision ("last revised date"), followed by the date you visited the page and printed the article.
King, Tara. "Einstein's Silliest Idea." Salon 12 Oct. 1999. 6 Mar. 2000
<www.salon2000.com/feature/>.
As with any other citation, if there is no author, start the citation with the next element, the title. For instance, if the citation above didn't have an author listed, it would be alphabetized by "Einstein" and look like this:
"Einstein's Silliest Idea." Salon 12 Oct. 1999. 6 Mar. 2000 <http://www.salon2000.com/feature/>.
If you use a portion of an interview, your Works Cited entry need include only the following information:
Gates, Bill. Personal interview. 6 Mar. 2000.
If you are citing a video or DVD, include the following information:
The Matrix. Dir. The Wachoski Bros. Perf. Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne.
Videocassette. Warner, 1999.
What if I cite a religious text?
If a religious text is one of your sources, include the version as part of the title (regardless what title appears on the title page of the book itself).
King James Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983.
You must provide an English translation of anything you cite in the text. If your source is in a different language, you must provide a translation of the sections you cite even if you paraphrase. If translating the text is inappropriate, seek another source. It is essential that the reader be able to verify your citations.
Use the section references common to the text you cite. For instance, when referring to biblical passages in your paper, just cite chapter and verse. Do not cite the page number.
The Bible tells us that if someone is hungry, "give him food to eat" (Prov. 25.21).
Note: A period — not a colon — separates the chapter and verse.
You must turn in copies of each source you cite (therefore, each entry on your Works Cited page). You need not submit a clean copy, though. Your marked-up working copies are fine.
On the article you submit,
highlight the portions you cite in the paper.