AVOIDING PLAGIARISMHow to use MLA Style Guidelines

to Cite Your Sources

Created by: Jill RobinsonLearning Resource Center

ITT Technical Institute Morrisville, NCJanuary 2009

Updated by: Jennifer Joyner and Sarah Jenkins

Learning Resource CenterITT Technical Institute

Morrisville, NCSeptember 2009

Plagiarism can come in many forms…

Sources cited but still plagiarized (incorrectly using Citation Style Guidelines)

Sources used but not cited

Copy/Paste

Word Switch

Idea (those not accepted as general knowledge)

To cite or not to cite?Take the Quiz: www.infolit4techstudents.pbwiki.com/Citation-Quiz

If in doubt…

CITE IT!Use a set of style guidelines, such as those offered by the MLA (Modern Language Association) to correctly cite your sources.

This presentation offers advice on writing using MLA Style.

STEP 1: Integrating Outside Sources into your Work

You can integrate an outside source into your work in 3 different ways

A. Quoting – keeping the original quote as is, using quotation marks

B. Paraphrasing – restating all of the information in the original source in your own words

C. Summarizing – rewording or restating the main idea

STEP 2a: Pause to give credit to the original author

In MLA Style, use in-text citations.

After using information from an outside source in the body of your paper or assignment, include a citation in parentheses.

In-text citations are like hyperlinks to a bibliography.

Example: He believes, “To make the most of those skills, we need a more creative capitalism: an attempt to stretch the reach of market forces so that more companies can benefit from doing work that makes more people better off ” (Gates 41). This is a quotation from Bill Gates in Time magazine.

Step 2b: Creating In-Text Citations

Examples:1. Author name known: (Gates 41).2. Two Authors: (Gates and Jobs 77).3. Author name unknown, journal title used instead: (Computer

Networking Today 22).

Examples used in a sentence:1. He said, “To make the most of those skills, we need a more

creative capitalism…” (Gates 41).2. Gates argues, “To make the most of those skills, we need a

more creative capitalism…” (41).• In this instance, since the author is named in a phrase

introducing the quote, we include the publication year after the author’s name and the page number at the end of the quotation.

Direct quotations: Put quotation marks around the quoted text. After the direct quote, enter a single space, then the author’s last name, the year, and page number in parentheses.

Indirect quotations: After a summary or paraphrase, it is not necessary to include the page number in the in-text citation.

STEP 3: Creating a “Works Cited” List

Put the list of references on a separate sheet of paper at the end of your research paper. Title the page “Works Cited.”

You should include all of the resources you used, regardless of whether or not you directly quoted them

Arrange the list alphabetically by author’s last name. If no author is listed, alphabetize by title.

Double space the list and indent any lines after the first line of the citation.

Create your Works Cited page as you write your paper instead of waiting until you are finished.

Citing Websites

When citing a website, include the following information when

available:

1. Author’s name2. Date of publication3. Title of document in “quotations” or

underlined if a book4. Date you accessed the source5. Electronic address (URL)

Online (electronic) or Print? Did you find your source in the Virtual Library? If so, you

may not need to cite your source as an electronic resource. Many resources are digitized from their original print

publications for easier access.

Rule of Thumb:• If you are using a book, journal, magazine, or newspaper that you located using the Virtual Library, cite the source as a regular print resource.

• If you are using a source that you found using a search engine (Google, Yahoo, etc.), cite the source as an electronic source.

• If you are using a source available from a government website or some other sponsoring institution, association, or agency website, cite the source as an electronic source.

MLA Works Cited Sample Page

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/14

Resources in the LRC

• MLA Guide for Writer’s of Research Papers

• A Writer’s Reference by Diana Hacker

• Keys for Writers by Ann Raimes

Online Resources

KnightCite (http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite) **Remember to choose the type of source you are citing!

NCSU’s Citation Builder (http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/lobo2/citationbuilder/citationbuilder.php)

Virtual Library (Accessible through the Student Portal) Click on the “Reference” tab, then choose “Grammar, Writing

& Style”

The following online resources provide instructions on how to form in-text citations and a list of References.