MLA Documentation

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MLA Documentation

• Avoid plagiarism!
• Establish credibility!

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What isdocumentation?

• Giving credit whenever you reference anyone
  elses work (writing, research, ideas)
• Parenthetical References
• (author )
• immediately after any quoted, paraphrased, or
  summarized text
• Works Cited
• list of all sources referenced
• last page of document
• see MLA for format

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Works Cited Page

• bibliography
• Last, separate page of your final document
• List of all sources referenced in paper
• Start keeping track from the beginning of your
  research!

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Works Cited
Madison 11 Works Cited Silly, Iam. Laughing at
myself. Comedian Quarterly. 16 Sept.
1999 5-11. Smiles, Seymore. Laughter
Really Is the Best Medicine A
Comparative Study. New Medicine. 1 Nov.
2001 35-70. Wright-Moor, Iota.
Emotions Getting Them On Paper So Someone
Can Understand. Nebraska Me Too
Publ. Inc., 1997.

• Double space
• 1 margins
• Center Works Cited at top
• Arrange alphabetically

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What information do I need?

• Refer to an MLA style guide such as
• Language Network (p. 648-655)
• Write for College (sections 311-361)
• MLA Handbook (6th edition is most current)
• Internet sources
• http//www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocMLA.html
• http//www.mla.org/
• Style
• Frequently Asked Questions
• http//www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/resea
  rch/r_mla.html

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Parenthetical References

• You must document
• Summarized or paraphrased information
• Facts, figures, and statistics
• Quoted words, phrases, or passages
• Ideas of another person
• Any reference to another published work

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Parenthetical References

• Generally authors last name page number of
  source
• (Madison 394)
• Exceptions
• Identifying Madison in text, then (394)
• Citing complete works, then no page number
• Citing anonymous book then (shortened version of
  title page number)
• Citing an indirect, secondary source, then (qtd.
  in Madison) if finding the original source is not
  possible
• Citing source w/o pagination (author)

no comma
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Research 4 Working Bibliography

• Keep a working, annotated bibliography of all of
  the sources you think you might use in your
  paper.
• Guidelines
• Use MLA documentation
• When you begin writing, mark those you actually
  use
• See http//english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_
  annotatedbib.html

• Note taking Options
• Note cards
• Electronic Bibliography
• Word document
• PDA or handheld

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Sample Source Note Card
1
Wright-Moor, Iota. Emotions Getting Them On
Paper So Someone Can Understand.
Nebraska Me Too Publ. Inc., 1997.
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Sample Source Note Card
This is where you would write a brief summary of
the source and a few evaluative statements. (How
helpful is this source? Is it credible?)
Finally, you may want to include a few reflective
statements. (How does this source help me
develop my ideas?)
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Sample Source Notes
Title An Annotated Bibliography Wright-Moor,
Iota. Emotions Getting Them On Paper So
Someone Can Understand. Nebraska Me Too Publ.
Inc., 1997. This is where you would write a
brief summary of the source and a few evaluative
statements. (How helpful is this source? Is it
credible?) Finally, you may want to include a
few reflective statements. (How does this source
help me develop my ideas?)