How to Use In-text Citations
Proper citations are a fundamental rule of academic writing, as they allow readers to verify the accuracy and veracity of the information that you have provided.
Citing styles vary from discipline to discipline, but the obligation to cite does not. It is entirely acceptable to present another person’s ideas in your essay. However, it must be done appropriately to avoid plagiarism.
What should you cite?
ü All direct quotations, including from the internet
ü Any summary of another person's words or ideas (simply paraphrasing or rewording someone else’s ideas without citing the source of those ideas is still plagiarism)
ü The use of someone else's data or statistics
You do not need to cite general knowledge. This includes basic facts that can be found in any general textbook.
Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text, must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry in the Works Cited List.
MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.
In-Text citations for known Author
Romantic poetry is characterized by the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings (Wordsworth 263).
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
***Note the period to end the sentence is after the citation
In-text citations for print sources with no known Author
When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (such as an article) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire Web sites) and provide a page number.
We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . ." ("Impact of Global Warming" 6).
Citing authors with same last names
Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:
Although some medical ethicists claim that cloning will lead to designer children (R. Miller 12), others note that the advantages for medical research outweigh this consideration (A. Miller 46).
Citing a work by multiple authors
For a source with three or fewer authors, list the authors' last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:
Smith, Yang, and Moore argue that tougher gun control is not needed in the United States (76).
The authors state "Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).
How to Use Quotations in your Paper
A quotation consists of the exact words found in a source. All quotations must be cited (MLA Intent citations); not doing so constitutes plagiarism, which means presenting someone else’s words, ideas, or numbers as your own.
Quotations should NEVER carry your argument, but can illustrate or support it. As a general rule, you should quote secondary sources sparingly. Place short quotes (1-2 lines) in the text using quotation marks; quotes longer than 2 lines are indented (on the right and left) and single-spaced, with no quotation marks.
You should quote primary sources when:
· ü Your primary source provides a fact or concept that directly supports your argument.
· ü Your source uses terminology that is now obsolete, but that conveys the atmosphere/way of thinking of the time.
· ü The source is unclear or ambiguous; you are obliged to put your own interpretation on it, and want to make the reader aware of this fact.
You should only quote a secondary source when:
· ü The historian quoted is using a phrase or expression or formulating a problem in a way that is unique and that you find particularly useful for your argument.
· ü The passage quoted is critical to your argument – for instance, you are challenging the author's interpretation and intend to refute it.
Never have a nameless quote. Always introduce quotations to indicate who is speaking.
“Hitler was a bad man” (Jones 35).
According to Jones, “Hitler was a bad Man” (35).
Other good ways of introducing:
· Historian Jones claims…
· Jones states that…
· The author of I Know History shows…
If you need to shorten a quote or only use part of it use an “ellipses” or “[…]”
Jones denounces Hitler when he claimed that “Hitler was an egotistical, genocidal [...] and all around no good doer” (Jones 45).
Quotations use the original wording. If the original is misspelled, you must keep the misspelling. You may insert [sic] after the mistake to show that you recognize it as an error.
How to Make a Works Cited Page
According to MLA style, you must have a Works Cited page at the end of your research paper. All entries in the Works Cited page must correspond to the works cited in your main text.
Basic rules
· Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your research paper. It should have the same one-inch margins and last name, page number header as the rest of your paper.
· Label the page Works Cited (do not italicize the words Works Cited or put them in quotation marks) and center the words Works Cited at the top of the page.
· Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
· Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent.
· Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc, but do not capitalize articles (the, an), prepositions, or conjunctions unless one is the first word of the title or subtitle: Gone with the Wind, The Art of War, There Is Nothing Left to Lose.
· Use italics (instead of underlining) for titles of larger works (books, magazines) and quotation marks for titles of shorter works (poems, articles)
· Entries are listed alphabetically by the author's last name (or if no Author, then editor names). Author names are written last name first; middle names or middle initials follow the first name
· Double check for placement of commas and periods!!
Book
Last name, First name Middle Initial. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
Gleick, James A. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987.
Online Source
Last name, First name. "Article Title." Website Title. Publisher of Website, Day Month Year article was published. Day
Month Year article was accessed. <URL>.
Cain, Kevin. "The Negative Effects of Facebook on Communication." Social Media Today RSS
N.p., 29 June 2012. 02 Jan. 2013. <socialmediatoday.com>.
Article in Magazine
Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages.
Poniewozik, James. “TV Makes a Too-Close Call.” Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71.
MLA Rough Draft Research Paper Checklist
____ Typed
____ Double Spaced
____ Times New Roman
____ 12 Point Font
____ Correct Margin Size
____ Correct page length
____ Correct Heading, Title, and Name/Page #
____ Correct MLA Citations (In-text Parenthetical Citations for ALL information that came from your notecards)
____ Works Cited Page
Writing, Revising, and Editing the Essay
Your goal in writing a history essay is to express your thoughts and ideas in a clear and structured way. Remember to focus on your thesis and follow your outline. Obviously, as you proceed with your research, you will come up with more questions that you can work into your outline, and some of your original questions might change. You might discover that your original topic was too broad, and that you can write an entire paper on just one of your questions. Likewise, the organization of your outline may change as you learn more.
You must give readers reasons to believe your story: you cannot write a history essay without referring to your sources or without backing up your opinions with evidence.
Revising and editing an essay are the final steps in writing a history essay. Revising consists of reading through the text to check and improve on the content. Editing consists of looking for errors in grammar, syntax, word usage, spelling, and punctuation.
History-Specific Problems and Tips
Below are a few common problems to avoid when writing history essays.
Flaws in Argumentation
· Too hasty generalizations that are based on insufficient evidence: (e.g., “The War of1812 was the defining moment in Canadian history.” Compared to what? You cannot review and rank every major event in Canadian history in an essay. It would be far better to zero in on an aspect of the war's impact (e.g. “The War of 1812 played a key role in defining Upper Canada's identity”).
· Oversimplification of a cause and effect relationship: (e.g., “Prohibition eliminated drunkenness.” – Prohibition did not stop everyone from drinking, so the relationship between cause and effect is too simplistic).
· Insufficient evidence to support your assertions: (e.g., how do we know that what you say is true?) You need to prove your argument, not just assert it.
Stylistic Flaws
· Excessive use of the passive voice: the historian’s goal is to describe and discuss who did what to whom. The active voice tells us who did the action. The passive voice, on the other hand, tells us only that some action was done. Consider the following two sentences. “France was invaded for the third time in a century” (passive voice); “Germany invaded France for the third time in a century” (active voice). The second sentence is much clearer about who (Germany) did what (invade) to whom (France).
· Use of the historical present: write about the past using the past tense. Consider these two phrases: “Calvin Coolidge does not believe that the government should intervene in the business process. Within a year after he leaves office, the Great Depression begins” (historical present); If the reader was not aware when the Great Depression occurred, she might think that it was happening now! The sentence is much clearer in past tense: “Calvin Coolidge did not believe that the government should intervene in the business process. Within a year after he had left office, the Great Depression began” (past tense).
· Excessive use of ‘I’: this expresses a personal opinion, not a historical argument. Arguments are logical reasoning supported by verifiable evidence; history essays should not be personal.
Common Grammatical Errors
· Pronoun misuse – make sure that pronouns such as ‘she,’ ‘he,’ or ‘it’ clearly refer to identifiable nouns. Use “it,” not “they,” for places such as countries and for institutions, including political parties and governments.
· Apostrophe misuse - an apostrophe indicates possession. Do not use it to indicate the plural: 1870’s should be written as 1870s.
· Homophones- Beware of There/Their, Weather/Whether, etc.
· Contractions- DON’T USE THEM like I just did!
How to Make a Title
This is the last step to your paper once you are finished writing. Pick a title that is relating to the argument in your thesis. It doesn’t have to be cute and catchy. Get to the point (This isn’t elementary school anymore).
Gangsters and Outlaws: The Rise and Fall of America’s Prohibition and Depression-Era Criminals
Revising and Editing Checklist
Below are a number of simple questions to ask yourself as you revise and edit your essay.
I. Introduction
This may be 1-2 paragraphs. The intro is meant to introduce the topic. You should assume that your reader knows nothing. In this paragraph should be an introduction to the facts as to the time and place of the setting, the thesis statement and the direction you will go to address that statement.
When you finish writing your intro, ask yourself:
1. Is it clear what the historical event is?
2. Do you know when and where this occurred?
3. Do you get a general sense of this time in history?
4. Does the thesis meet all the criteria? If not, what is missing?
a. Is it UNDERLINED?
b. Is it ONE sentence (and not a run-on?)
c. Does it argue something you will prove in the rest of the paper?
5. What are the subtopics of the essay?
II. Main Body
This is where you prove your Thesis. Should flow logically and be in the order you have laid out in your introduction paragraph
1. Am I following my Thesis?
2. Am I following my outline?
3. Does each argument support your theses? If not, toss it.
4. Does the evidence (research) you have support that argument? If not, toss it.
5. Am I correctly integrating my sources?
6. Are my paragraphs too short [less than 5 sentences] or too long [more a page]?
7. Do I include effective transition sentences between paragraphs and topics?
III. Conclusion
The conclusion should be strong and leave the reader thinking. The ending must bring the ideas in your thesis to a clear finish, and should bring the reader back to the introduction. Close with a final idea that can pull the topic together.
How do I end my paper?
1. Refer to your introduction
2. Restate your main idea in different words, don’t repeat it
3. Close with a final idea that leaves the reader with one last thought that was the focus of your thesis
IV. References
1. Do I provide references for all sentences or ideas taken from an outside source?
2. Is my referencing style correct and consistent?
3. Do I use quotes accurately and appropriately?
4. Do I include all of my sources in my Works Cited?
V. Grammar and Spelling:
1. Do I use formal (academic) vocabulary and avoid slang and biased vocabulary?
2. Are my verb tenses (present/past) consistent and correct?
3. Do I use commas, periods, colons, semi-colons, and apostrophes correctly?
4. Is my spelling accurate?
5. Are any of my sentences too short or too lengthy?
6. Are my sentences complete ideas?
7. Have I used ambiguous words such as “it”, “they” or “them”?