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English 101: College Writing (Prof. Miller)

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Why Cite?

Documenting your sources is a necessity, which:

  1. Allows readers to find your sources;
  2. Provides evidence for your arguments;
  3. Adds credibility to your work;
  4. Avoids plagiarism, the consequence of which could be an allegation of academic misconduct. 

Each paper or project you work on will use just one citation style.

MLA Style (9th ed.)

Whether you choose to quote, summarize, or paraphrase sources you use in your research paper, you must cite each one. For guidelines and examples, look here:

If you use online citation formatters provided free on the internet or within a library database. Remember that computer generated citations are not foolproof. Be sure to review them for accuracy.

This video has good tips for Using a Citation from a Citation Generator.

If you are writing a long paper or thesis and want help organizing your sources and citations, try Zotero or EndNote, both of which the library supports.

MLA Citation Outlines (9th ed.)

MLA Citation Examples (9th ed.)

Each entry should include the following core elements, when known, which should be taken from the source's title page or the first page of a periodical article or webpage:

  • author name(s).
  • title of source.
  • title of container,
  • other contributors,
  • version,
  • number,
  • publisher,
  • publication date,
  • location.

You need to combine elements from several examples to fit what you are citing.

Book, Two Authors, Print [5.7]

List the authors in the order they appear on the title page.

For e-books, include the database name in italics, a comma, the year of publication, and then the permanent link to the book.

General Format: First author's last name comma first name and middle initial period comma second author's first name and middle name last name period book title in italics period publisher comma publishing date year period.Description of Citation:Meyer comma Karl E period comma and Shareen Blair Brysac period Tournament of Shadows in italics colon The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia in italics period Counterpoint comma 1999 period

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Meyer and Brysac 99).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Meyer and Brysac, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (99).

Journal Article, One Author, Online Database, with DOI

General format: Author last name comma first name period. open quote title in sentence case period close quote. journal title in italics and title case comma. lower case v o l period (which stands for volume). Volume number. n o period (which stands for issue number). Issue number comma. publication year comma space lowercase p p period space then the page range period. database title in italics and title case comma digital object identifier period. Description of citation: Ebelebe comma Ugo Ben period. open quotation marks Reinventing Nollywood colon the impact of online funding and distribution on Nigerian Cinema period close quotation marks. Convergence in title case and italics comma v o l period space 25 n o period space three comma 2019 comma p p period 466 dash 478 period. Sage journals in title case and italics comma h t t p s colon forward slash forward slash d o i period o r g forward slash 10 period 1177 forward slash 1354856517735792 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Ebelebe 470).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Ebelebe, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (470).

Journal Article, Two Authors, Website, No DOI, No Stable Link, with URL

In this example, the article was not paginated. If there had been page numbers they would have been included in the citation.

General format: Author last name comma first name initial of middle name period comma and first name middle initial last name period space open quotation marks title in title case colon subtitle in title case period close quotation marks. title of the journal in title case and italics comma v o l period space comma volume number comma n o period space issue number comma publication date comma URL beginning with w w w (not http or https) period. Description of citation: MacArthur comma Marit J period comma and Lee M period Miller period. open quotation marks Slow Listening semicolon Digital Tools for Voice Studies period close quotation marks. Digital Humanities Quarterly in title case and italics comma v o l period space 17 comma, n o period space 2 comma 2023 comma w w w period digital humanities period org forward slash d h q forward slash space v o l forward slash 17 forward slash 2 forward slash 000688 forward slash 000688 period h t m l period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (MacArthur and Miller).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to MacArthur and Miller, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese."

Classroom Materials, in Canvas

  1. Title of Classroom Material
  2. Course Title
  3. Instructor
  4. Canvas (Learning Management System)
  5. Educational Institution
  6. Date
  7. URL

General Format: Open quotation marks Title of classroom material in title case period close quotation marks. Course title in title case comma taught by instructor first name instructor last name period. Name of learning management system in title case and italics comma name of university with the letter U substituted for the word university, publication day abbreviated month period space year comma U R L period. Description of Citation: Open quotation marks Week One in title case period close quotation marks. Introduction to College Writing, Reading, and Research in title case comma taught by Juanita Perez period. Canvas in title case and italics comma, U of Wisconsin dash Whitewater, 3 Sept period 2024 comma uwwtw period instructure period com forward slash courses forward slash 32763 forward slash files forward slash 78615818 question mark module underscore item underscore id equal sign 23822334 period.