MLA Additional Examples Including Parenthetical References

Helpful Guidelines for Citing Sources Using MLA Style

Plagiarism is "using another person's ideas or creative work without giving credit to that person (Definitions of Library and Information Terminology). In order to avoid plagiarism, students need to cite their sources. While it is hoped that students know what is expected of them, according to E. W. Robelen, "There is a great deal of temptation out there, and there are certain students who give in to that temptation because it's so easy" (qtd. in Williams 351).
Citing sources isn't always easy and does require some effort. For example, many students are unsure about what to do if they want to include a very long quotation in their paper but Gibaldi offers guidance:

If a quotation runs to more than four lines in your paper, set it off from your text by beginning a new line, indenting one inch (or ten spaces if you are using a typewriter) from the left margin, and typing it double-spaced, without adding quotation marks. A colon generally introduces a quotation displayed in this way…If you quote only a single paragraph or part of one, do not indent the first line more than the rest. (110-111)

Students also find it very confusing to cite sources they retrieved from a library database. They're not sure if they should include a web address (also known as the Uniform Resource Locator or URL) for a journal article they found in a database. Generally, it is not necessary to include a URL for the document or for the database service:

Some database subscription services assign no apparent URLs to documents or assign URLs that are unique to the subscribing institution or to the current research session…Consequently, the URL of the article has no value for anyone without access to the system and has virtually no value for anyone who does…When writing the bibliographic citation for this source, then, you may conclude not with the URL of the document but rather with the URL of the home page of the service, if you know it, or you may simply end with the date of access…(Gibaldi 29)

If you cannot find an author or page number for an online source, simply include the necessary information that is available. If you want to quote from sources that have no assigned page numbers or paragraph numbers, simply cite each work in its entirety (Gibaldi 239). Unless the online source is a PDF document with assigned page numbers, do not use the page numbers of a printout because pagination varies depending on the printout.

Works Cited

Definitions of Library and Information Terminology. 18 May 2006. Columbia Gorge Community College. 7 April
        2008. < http://www.cgcc.cc.or.us/Library/lib-instruction/define-terms.htm >.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language
        Association of America, 2003.
Williams, Bronwyn T. "Trust, Betrayal, and Authorship: Plagiarism and How We Perceive Students." Journal of
        Adolescent & Adult Literacy 51.4 (2007-2008): 350-354. Academic Search Premier. Clinton Community
        Coll. Lib., Plattsburgh. 7 April 2008.

IMPORTANT: The Works Cited page should be on a separate piece of paper.
kf 4/08