Citing Sources

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Citing Sources

• take a deep breath

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informal citation method

• Signal phrases

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Mary said...According to acclaimed sex
therapist Dr. Feelgood... The New York Times
reports......a White House spokesperson shared
in late 2006 ...appeared in The New England
Journal of Medicine in May 2007 ...explains
the author about her work
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Formal citation method

• MLA means
• Modern Language Association

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MLA formal citations are those parentheses you
may have seen at the end of sentences(name of
source page number).(Fournier 8).
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Informal Citations/ Signal Phrases

• Are everywhere!

Signal phrase
Chicken Little cried, The sky is falling!

• textbooks
• newspaper articles
• magazine columns
• short academic
• journal reports
• cable newscasts
• pdf files
• fiction and nonfiction books
• informed
• conversation

• Read widely and watch closely!

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Formal citation methods

• Take time to learn!

• buy, read and refer to
• Keys for Writers
• attend 45 minute ASC workshop
• read course pack
• come to class
• try
• practice
• form a study group
• use internet sources

• MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style

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Begin with Informal Signal Phrases

• cite source within sentence
• add quotations to quotes
• paraphrase requires citation too
• best practice for conversation skills
• if helpful, introduce sources occupation or
  background

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More Signal Phrase examples

• Fitness guru Roberta Green says, Eat lots of
  broccoli!
• On the Weather Channel, global warming is taken
  seriously.
• President Bush believes the war in Iraq is
  winnable.
• Go home! Manuel screamed to the neighbors
  mutt.

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Next, add a Works Cited page

• determine type of source
• need Keys for Writers as a reference
• find example listing
• follow example as closely as possible
• create a listing for each source
• alphabetize listings
• format page correctly
• (double space, indents, title, etc.)
• double check each source listing
• edit

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Get comfortable!Refer to Keys for Writers
often

• dont be afraid
• use table of contents
• only need one page at a time
• information is necessary
• reference memorize

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Understand Source

• Hierarchy of source
• author
• name of publication
• name of organization

• Always question source
• Reliable?
• Authority? bias?

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Source is the item in a Works Cited
listing
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Finally, for complete MLA form, essay and
Works Cited page must connect
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must contain the first item in the Works Cited
page listing (source)

• for complete MLA form,
• the sentence in the essay

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Fournier, Gina. Thelma Louise and Women in
Hollywood. Jefferson, North Carolina
McFarland Company, Inc., 2007.

• Works Cited page listing

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• If source is mentioned in the sentence
• (signal phrase),
• put
• page number/s
• if they exist in parentheses

• Fournier asks readers to consider the
  employment figures for women in Hollywood
  compared to men in a chapter entitled The Bloody
  Truth (33-47).

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• If source is
• not mentioned
• in sentence,
• put
• source plus any page number/s
• in parentheses.

• Women in Hollywood earn less than their male
  counterparts, yet the public supports this
  economic imbalance (Fournier 33).

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Good NewsChoice!

• Dont want to keep repeating the name of a source?

• Use a formal parenthetical!

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Pros vs. Students

• Journalists in newspapers and magazines use
  signal phrases only.
• Academics use formal parentheticals, as well as
  some signal phrases.

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• Students ,w ant to avoid mentioning the first
  item in the Works Cited listing, such as an
  unknown author?
• U se both a creative signal phrase and a formal
  parenthetical!

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Choose formal parenthetical

• According to one up and coming author and noted
  community college English instructor, these
  discrepancies are largely ignored in favor of
  talk about box office gross sales receipts
  (Fournier 32-47). Movie goers prefer gossip over
  more serious issues.

• Leading ladies make far less money than their
  leading men though both genders are required to
  fall equally in love (Fournier 32-47).
• Or are they?

Choose both
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Dont worry!

• try easybib.com

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Instructor Gina Fournier January 2008 / updated
Summer 2009 Oakland Community CollegeRoyal
Oak/Southfield Campusgmfourni_at_oaklandcc.edu