Using and Integrating Sources and Proper Citation

In order to use a source properly and avoid plagiarism, you must perform three different stages of integration.

Stage One. Attribution

• At the point where you first begin to use another author’s ideas (whether through quotation or paraphrasing), you must attribute those ideas directly to the author. For example:

In Comic Book Nation, Bradford Wright suggests,…

The first attribution you make for aspecific author should contain thename of the author's work. However,you must continue to use otherattributions for as long as you arediscussing that author's ideas - evenwhen you are paraphrasing.

Wright claims (insists, argues,maintains, believes, etc.) . . .

According to Wright . . .

Stage Two. Citation

• After you have introduced the author's ideas with an attribution, you must tell the reader where you found those ideas. To do this, you must provide a page number citation. This is called parenthetical documentation.

In Comic Book Nation, BradfordWright suggests, “once confidentsymbols of hope, superheroes nowspoke to the paranoia andpsychosis lurking behind the rosyveneer of Reagan’s America”(266).

The attribution and the citation worktogether to help separate your ideasfrom the ideas of another author. Inother words, all of the informationthat comes between the citation andthe attribution "belongs" to theattributed author.

Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns has been called the most important superhero comic since the first issue of Superman. Miller’s comic is certainly one of the most important comics of the mid-1980s deconstruction of the superhero. Bradford Wright claims, “once confident symbols of hope, superheroes now spoke to the paranoia and psychosis lurking behind the rosy veneer of Reagan’s America” (266). Miller’s Dark Knight serves as one of the first and most influential examples of this trend.

Stage Three. Bibliography

• The bibliography completes the process of telling your reader where you found your information. This happens at the end of your paper and is called (under the MLA format, which we are using) the "works cited" page. For each author whom you discuss in your paper, you must provide a bibliographic citation. If you have multiple authors, you should list them in alphabetical order.

Works Cited

Brown, Jeffrey A. Black Superheroes, Milestone Comics, and Their Fans. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 2001.

Wright, Bradford W. Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns has been calledthe most important superhero comic since the first issue ofSuperman. Miller’s comic is certainly one of the most importantcomics of the mid-1980s deconstruction of the superhero.Bradford Wright claims, “once confident symbols of hope,superheroes now spoke to the paranoia and psychosis lurkingbehind the rosy veneer of Reagan’s America” (266). Miller’s DarkKnight serves as one of the first and most influential examples ofthis trend. Wright suggests that Miller’s comics were popular bothfor their thematic content and the strength of his storytelling (266).According to Wright, Miller’s revision of Batman also

sparked a major resurgence in Batman’s popularity thatpeaked several years later with the release of WarnerBrothers’ enormously successful Batman movie, directed byTim Burton and starring Kichael Keaton and Jack Nickolson.(266)

Indeed, one could claim that the popularity of Miller’s creation isalso partially responsible for the continued transition of thesuperhero from page to screen exemplified in recent films such asSpider-Man and The Hulk.