MLA Source IntegrationCreated and Presented by the CASA Writing Center

Our Goal Today

• Focus on integrating and citing sources in MLA. • Discuss how to effectively integrate sources into

your writing. • Discuss how to correctly cite sources in MLA. • Practice creating in-text citations within your

own writing. • Answer any questions you have about integrated

sources in MLA.

Why do I have to cite?• What is the purpose of a Works Cited?

• A list of your Works Cited at the end of your paper informs your reader of which sources you used to write this paper, when they were published, and where they can be located.

• Why do I have to cite in-text? • A parenthetical, or in-text, citation signals to your reader that you

are borrowing information from an outside source.

• Each in-text citation must have a corresponding entry on the Works Cited page. • e.g. (Swales 471) should direct your reader to a Works Cited

entry that begins with Swales.

Works Cited Page

• Works Cited is the title and should be centered• If there is only one citation – Work Cited

• The Works Cited list should:• be in alphabetical order• have a hanging indent for each entry• be double spaced

Example: Works Cited Page

Citing Sources• In-text citations are required when you use information

from a source, whether that information is quoted or paraphrased.

• In-text citations (parenthetical citations) are meant to let your reader know exactly when you use source information.

• An in-text citation serves as a connection to your Works Cited page, which allows others to duplicate your research.

Integrating Sources

• When you need to cite a source in your own writing, there are two options available to you:

• Author named in parentheses, using a parenthetical citation: (Swales 471).

• Author named in sentence, using a signal phrase: John Swales explains that … (471).

Looking at your own writing…• Select a page in your paper that has a lot of in-text citations

highlighted.

• How many of your citations have the author named a sentence?• How many of your citations have the author named in parentheses,

at the end of the sentence?• How many of your citations have no author?

Image retrieved from http://czechingin.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/count-von-count-sesame-street.jpg

In-text Citations: Basics

• Basic in-text citation format:

• Scholarly journal print: (Bagchi 43). • Scholarly journal online/database: (Langhamer 176). • Work in anthology: (Bordo 151).

(Author’s Last Name page number).

In-text Citations

• More than one author• (Author A Last Name and Author B Last Name page number). • (Hutcheon and Hutcheon 58).

• Entire website• (Shortened Title of Web Page page number – if available). • (Purdue Owl Family).

• Video recording• (Creator’s name)• (Next New Networks).

Citing Multiple or Repeating Sources• When using multiple sources within the same paragraph,

be sure to indicate the author in your citation or signal phrase.

• If you are discussing a single source within a paragraph, you can cite the author’s name and page number the first time and then only cite the page number for other citations. • However, it is always a good idea to clearly indicate all ideas and

sources you are borrowing. • Each time you introduce a new idea, cite it using the author’s

name.

In-text Citations: No Author

• For sources with no known author: • Cite this work by the title• Place title in quotation marks if it is a short work (e.g.

articles) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire websites)

• Provide a page number

• You can use the full title in a signal phrase or an abbreviated version of the title in parentheses.

In-text Citations: No Author• Website: • (“Shortened title of page from website” page number).

• (“MLA Works Cited”).• “MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format.” Purdue OWL.

2012. Web. 24 July 2011.

• Articles: • (“Shortened title of article” page number).

• (“Impact of Global Warming”). • “The Impact of Global Warming in North America.”

Global Warming: Early Signs. 1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.

Example:In-text Citation with No Author• We see so many global warming hotspots in North

America likely because this region has “more readily accessible climactic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . . ” (“Impact of Global Warming” 6).

• “The Impact of Global Warming in North America” explains that… (6).

• “The Impact of Global Warming in North America.” Global Warming: Early Signs. 1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.

In-text Citations: The Tricky Stuff

• Section numbers:• “If your source uses explicit paragraph numbers rather

than page numbers – as, for example, some electronic publications do – give the relevant number or numbers preceded by the abbreviated par or pars” (6.4.2 MLA Handbook, 7th ed.).

• Authors with the same last name:• If your Works Cited list contains more than one author

with the same last name, the author’s first initial must be included in the parenthetical reference.

• Example: (A. Patterson 183-85).

In-text Citations: Same Author

• Two or more works by same author:• When citing two or more works by the same author,

put a comma after the author’s name and include the title of the work (if brief) or a shortened version of the title (6.4.6). • Example 1: Shakespeare’s King Lear has been called

a comedy of the grotesque” (Frye, Anatomy 237). • Example 2: One’s death is not a unique experience,

for “every moment we have lived through we have also died out of into another order” (Frye, Double Vision 85).

In-text Citations: Multiple Sources

• Two or more sources within the same citation:• cite each work as your

normally would in a reference, and use semicolons to separate the citations (6.4.9).

Example: (Fukuyama 42; McRae 101-33).

In-text citations: Indirect Sources

• Taking material cited in another source and using it within your own work. Whenever possible, take material from the original source; however, sometimes only an indirect source is available. (6.4.7).

Example: Samuel Johnson admitted that Edmund Burke was an “extraordinary man” (qtd. in Boswell 450).

Integrating Sources

• When you need to cite a source in your own writing, there are two options available to you:

• Author named in parentheses, using a parenthetical citation:

(Swales 471).

• Author named in sentence, using a signal phrase: John Swales explains that … (471).

Signal Phrases• Signal phrasing can help you integrate sources into your

own paper.

• Human beings have been described by Kenneth Burke as "symbol-using animals" (3).

• Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).

• Burke contends humans use symbols to interpret the messages in their environment (3).

• Signal phrases help with flow and to break up a string of citations in the body of the paper.

Signal Verbs• Acknowledges• Advises• Argues• Asserts• Believes• Claims• Demonstrates• Evaluates• Expresses• Identifies• Indicates

• Maintains• Proposes• Reaffirms• Recognizes • Recommends• Reveals• States• Stipulates• Suggests• Theorizes• Urges

Creating a Signal Phrase

Author’s Name Signal Verb Source Material

John Swales demonstrates that a discourse community can be identified through six characteristics (471).

You can also use this formula to introduce a direct quotation.

John Swales demonstrates… that a discourse

community can be identified through six characteristics

(471).

Create Your Own Signal Phrase

Author’s Name Signal Verb Source Material

Suggestions for Readability

• Place the period after the parentheses. • (Thompson 29).

• Keep parenthetical citations brief. • Use as few as possible. • Give only the information needed to identify the source. • Do not add citations unnecessarily. • Place the citation as close as possible to the material

being cited.

Any questions?

• CASA Writing Center• http://casa.tamucc.edu/wc.php• Consultants, MLA handbooks, and helpful handouts.

• Purdue OWL• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/• Great resources for MLA and APA.