Why do we "Document" or "Cite" sources?
A properly formatted works cited or references page will show readers the sources you consulted, giving credit to those authors for their ideas.
Whenever you base your ideas on another person's work or quote someone, you must document the source you utilized. Even when you do not quote directly from someone elses' work, if reading that source contributed to the ideas presented in your paper, you must credit the author to avoid plagiarizing them. Whether you paraphrase or directly quote, always give credit to the source(s) you consulted.
Plagiarism is the act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization or representing another's work as one's own.
Think you are a plagiarism prevention expert?
You can test your knowledge about plagiarism by finding and destroying the plagiarism goblins in the Goblin (Threat) Game created by Mary Broussard at Lycoming College: http://www.lycoming.edu/library/instruction/tutorials/plagiarismGame.aspx
Basic Rules for citing in MLA
Alphabetize citation list. Do not consider A, An or The at the beginning of a title.
Double space work cited page & set margins to 1 inch.
Italicize titles, including any subtitle(s).
Capitalize words First, Last and all Principal words in titles.
Article or books without an author or editor, begin the entry with the title.
Create hanging indents for records longer than one line. (keyboard shortcut: Control + T)
Online sources: Citations should include publication date(s) for sources. The date you accessed the online source is optional, but highly encouraged when no other date is listed (see p53 of the MLA handbook).
Option: When citing database articles with long URLs, you may omit the extended portion of the link and replace it with "..." for Professor Rivers.
Add in-text citations so the reader will know which source was used as well as the particular portion (page number).
An in-text citation will follow the sentence, but come before the ending punctuation (like in these parenthesis). In MLA, a basic in-text citation will consist of the author's last name followed by the page number where the information came from. The in-text citation for our first example source could look like this (Edson and Beck 72). While a nod to our second example source may look like this (Isaacson 72).
Not all in-text citations will be as simple as those above. What if you are citing a video, a play, or a website with no author? The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) summarizes and provides examples of different varieties of in-text citations here: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
This library guide from the University of Nevada also has a great breakdown for in text citations for MLA 8th edition: https://guides.library.unr.edu/mlacitation/in-textcite
BTW- Every source listed on your MLA Works Cited page should have one or more corresponding in-text citation(s) within your paper.
For more MLA & APA tools, consult our Library Guide on Documenting Resources (Citations)
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Writing tutors are available to work with students on the writing process for Polk State College course assignments. During the interactive session, the tutors can assist with specific questions about the writing process, including brainstorming and planning, revising rough drafts, preparing citations, and formatting a document.
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