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The
Online Writing Lab of Roane State Community College
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MLA: Using Sources Correctly
The
following guidelines are intended to answer some of the most frequently asked
questions regarding the use of sources.
Further
information regarding MLA style is located in The MLA Style Manual, by
Walter S. Achtert and Joseph Gibaldi and published by the Modern Language
Association of America. Your college writing handbook also discusses MLA style,
and might also include a sample research paper.
What are some of the most common
errors made when using sources?
What is the difference between
quotations and paraphrasing?
What are partial quotations and
how are they handled?
What are indented quotations
and how are they handled?
How do I punctuate short
quotations?
Do I capitalize the first
letter of a quotation when it falls in the middle of my sentence?
Do I use a comma or a colon
to introduce a quotation?
If quotations are verbatim, how
do I leave something out of a quotation that I do not need?
How do I correctly change a
quotation to suit my purpose, such as to identify a pronoun?
What if my quotation contains a
mistake?
If my source quotes somebody
else, how do I indicate this?
My professor says I use too many
dropped quotations. What does that mean?
Is it all right to always insert
my authors in parentheses at the end of each sentence?
I'm using several different
articles by one author. How do I handle this?
How is the works cited page
ordered?
Do I always need to put the
author's name in after the quotation?
- Be sure the reader knows who is speaking about whom.
- Make sure your quotation "works" grammatically in the sentence. Read very slowly and aloud. Make sure that the use of a quotation does not trick you into making a sentence fragment (i.e., you should have a subject and a verb in your sentence).
- The body of a direct quotation is copied verbatim (exactly like the original source, right down to the last comma). Be sure to check your quotation, then refer back to the original. Have you left out any words or punctuation? Have you inserted anything incorrectly?
- Do not rely on a quotation to get your point across. Always provide your insight. Quotations provide support and color.
- Avoid back-to-back quotations or "strings" of quotations. Try to hit a balance between quotation and your own commentary. A string of quotations is not considered your work.
- After mentioning a source's full name, it is then desirable to use the last name only from then on.
- Use quotations to liven up
your writing. Choose them carefully. Don't for instance:
- use them to provide background material,
- use them as a thesis statement,
- use them to end your paper,
- begin them too early.
Examples:
Wrong: "According to researchers, the computer has cut the average cost . . ."
Here it is not necessary to quote "according to researchers," even if it is taken verbatim from your source as this is a generic introduction.
Right: Start the quotation with "the computer. . . ."
Wrong: "In some parts of the world, wearing
fur is taboo now, said Mickey Allen of the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals at their annual meeting held in
Right: Instead, write: According to Mickey Allen of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, "In some parts of the world, wearing fur is taboo now" (25). The comment about the annual meeting is background material. If you use it at all, it should be paraphrased.
What's the
difference between quotations and paraphrasing? Do I need to use both?
There are several methods used in citing sources, such as partial quotations, indented quotations, short quotations, and paraphrasing. It is desirable that you use all of these to produce a balanced essay which flows well. Otherwise, your essay will be predictable and choppy. An explanation of each type follows.
What are partial quotations and how are they handled?
Use partial quotations to liven up your writing, making it easier for the reader to follow.
Example:
Margaret Reardon points out that today's economy cars are "better equipped" to handle accidents than the smaller cars of the past.
Note: When you use partial quotations (one to three words), a page number is not required. But beware! If you use an entire phrase or sentence, page numbers are needed! This "rule" is interpreted differently by instructors. If you use a page number, you are usually correct.
Further example:
Margaret Reardon mentions that today's cars are "designed with dual airbags" to protect both driver and passenger (346).
What are indented quotations and how are they handled?
Set off, or indent, prose quotations longer than four lines of your handwriting or of a typewritten paper. When a quotation is indented, the use of quotation marks is not necessary, and the page number is included outside the ending punctuation.
Example:
Like many people who enjoy a
leisurely pace of living with such attendant activities as reading, painting,
or gardening, I often long for a simpler time, a time when families amused
themselves by telling stories after supper, as opposed to watching
Notice that indented quotations are indented ten spaces.
How do I punctuate short quotations?
For a quotation shorter than four lines, quotation marks are used and the page numbers fall inside the ending punctuation.
Example:
"Many of our student's personal decisions will have the inherent dangers of instant gratification, and so will their political decisions," she said (548).
Paraphrasing is putting into your own words something another has said. It is not merely changing a word or two from the original or reordering a sentence. And you must still tell your reader where you got the idea. If you fail to cite your source or if you use the words another has written as if they were your own, either deliberately or accidentally, you are guilty of plagiarism, an offense that will damage your credibility as a researcher. If an author puts something in a clever way that you cannot improve upon, use partial quotations.
Do I capitalize the first letter of a quotation when it falls in the middle of my sentence?
Some instructors feel that writers can change beginning capitalization to suit the writer's grammatical purpose, but that the "body" of the quotation should be copied verbatim (exactly like the original, right down to the last comma). Others like the first word capitalized, especially when it is capitalized in the original source. If you are not sure, capitalize.
Example: According to Margo, "The summer was the hottest and driest she could remember" (34).
Do I use a comma or a colon to introduce a quotation?
A quotation is usually introduced by a comma or a colon. A colon precedes when a quotation is formally introduced or when the quotation itself is a complete sentence, but either no punctuation or a comma generally precedes when the quotation serves as an integral part of the sentence. Compare:
Shelley argued thus: "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."
but
She thought poets "the unacknowledged legislators of the world."
or
"Poets," according to Shelley, "are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."
or
Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" concludes: "A sadder and a wiser man, / He rose the morrow morn."
If quotations are verbatim, how do I leave something out of a quotation that I do not need?
Use ellipsis marks if you wish to leave something out of the middle of a quotation (perhaps it is not needed or will make your quotation too long).
Original Source:
She states that
many of our students' personal decisions will have the inherent dangers of instant gratification, and so will their political decisions. Virtual reality will make it possible for them to program themselves into scenarios we now merely fantasize about. As a result, imagination itself will require a new definition. (1)
Quoted with ellipses:
She states that
many of our students' personal decisions will have the inherent dangers of instant gratification, and so will their political decisions. . . . As a result, imagination itself will require a new definition. (1)
Note 1: There are only three ellipses marks used in this sentence. A period also appears, indicating that one sentence ended before the word "As." If you had only left out a few words in mid-sentence, then you would not need a period.
Note 2: Do not change the meaning of the quotation when you leave out part of it!
Note 3: Notice that now that information has been removed from the middle of the quotation, it is only three lines long. It should no longer be indented.
Use ellipsis marks ( . . . ) at the beginning and end of quotations only if necessary. It is not always necessary to do so, and too many will damage the flow of your essay. Use them sparingly.
How do I correctly change a quotation to suit my purpose, such as to identify a pronoun?
Often, a quotation you wish to use includes a pronoun instead of a name. Since you must copy the quotation verbatim, you should insert the name after the pronoun to clarify who you are talking about. Use brackets (not parenthesis).
Example: "He [Clapton] got the chills when he listened to that material recently."
What if my quotation contains a mistake?
Additionally, if your source makes a mistak, you copy the mistake because direct quotations are copied verbatim. However, you indicate that the mistake is not yours by using [sic], which means "thus" and tells the reader that the error appears in the original.
Example:
The professor stressed that "if your source makes a mistak [sic], you should copy the mistake because direct quotations are copied verbatim."
If my source quotes
somebody else, how do I indicate this?
When you have a quotation within a quotation, handle it this way:
Indented original (article by David Fricke appearing in Rolling Stone):
Clapton [Eric] got the chills when he listened to that material recently. It was the first time he had done so in over fifteen years. "It got too much for me," he says. "Old memories started coming back; old issues raised their head. I think of the people in that band and what happened to them." (qtd. in Fricke 26)
Notice that this quotation is indented because it is longer than four lines. Therefore, no quotation marks are used at the beginning or the end. The quotation marks that appear at the end are the result of needing quotation marks around Clapton's remark, not because the entire paragraph is a quotation. Notice also that the first line is indented an additional five spaces. That's because it's the first sentence in the paragraph in the original. If you begin a quotation in mid-paragraph, there is no indention.
Clapton's name does not appear on your Works Cited page as he is not your source. Fricke is the source. Therefore, Fricke's name should appear. Since Clapton is speaking, however, use "qtd. in" (quoted in) for clarification.
My professor says I
use too many dropped quotations. What does that mean?
Make sure all quotations are introduced. In other words, never just "stick" them into your paper at various points. "Sticking" quotations in (also called a "dropped quotation") makes your writing choppy and difficult to read.
And vary the way you introduce a quotation. The bracketed portions below point to the introductions to the quotations. Do not use the brackets to set off the introductions in your own essay.
Examples:
[Howard Stark writes that] "it's impossible not to twist an ankle in the pothole" (546).
or
[The author remarks,] "it's impossible not to twist an ankle in the pothole" (Stark 546).
or
[Stark discusses problems in his essay, referring to the fact that the] average turnaround time for a pothole to be fixed is "six months" (546).
or
[A discussion of scheduling is found in Stark's essay, and he refers to the fact that the] "average turnaround time" for a pothole to be fixed is six months (546).
Is it all right to always insert my authors in parentheses at the end of each sentence?
It is oftentimes preferable to use the source's name in the body of your paper rather than in parentheses at the end of the sentence. It makes you sound more knowledgeable, especially if you know something about the author. Many sources will not tell you anything at all about the author, in which case the very least you could say might be something like: John Smith, writing for Rolling Stone, says that (and then quote or paraphrase him). Often, however, a little blurb will appear at the end of an article which does tell something about the author. If you are writing a research paper, it is always nice to be able to say that your source has a Ph.D. in nuclear physics because it makes you sound more authoritative for having the good sense to pick someone who knows what he/she is talking about.
If you're using a Web source, make sure you look everywhere for the author, including the home page. It is also common to have a corporate author.
I'm using several different articles by one author. How do I handle this?
Often one author is an authority on a subject, so you may have several articles by that author. In your Works Cited page, alphabetize the author’s works by title; in place of the author’s name before each work after the first, type three hyphens and a period. Here is an example (from Keys for Writers, 3rd edition, p. 134):
Goleman, Daniel. Vital Lies, Simple Truths. New York: Simon, 1996.
---. Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam, 2000.
Goleman, Daniel, Paul Kaufman, and Michael L. Ray. “The Art of Creativity.” Psychology Today Mar./Apr. 1992: 40-47.
Note that in this example the third entry is a work by Goleman and two coauthors. Coauthored works are listed after the author’s other works.
To differentiate between the works of one author in the body of your paper, you can either refer to the title of the work within the text of your paper, or include the title (or a shortened version of it) in your parenthetical citation. If you also use the author’s name in the citation, follow it with a comma.
Example:
(Goleman, Vital Lies 135)
How is the works cited page ordered?
Remember that the Works Cited list is listed alphabetically by author. Therefore, unless there is more than one work by an author, do not insert the title in the body of the paper. The author and page will usually suffice, and there is no comma between the two.
Do I always need to put the author's name in after the quotation or paraphrased material?
If you mention the author's name in the sentence in which you quote or paraphrase him or her, you do not need to repeat it in parentheses at the end, although you do need a page number.
The above general rules apply in all courses and for all papers, even if the style (MLA, APA, Turabian, Campbell, AP) differs. Proper citation, documentation, and the graceful use of quotations and paraphrasing is always desired, not only in college but in the business world.
Copyright 1988 Jennifer Jordan-Henley
Revised January 2004
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