Research Help (Big 6)  » MLA Citation Format

When do I need to include an in-text citation? MLA Citation Format

Instructions When writing a paper, here is a guideline about when you should include an in-text citation (also called parenthetical notation). For each sample given, the in-text citation refers to an entry in the Works Cited at the end.

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When paraphrasing an author’s wording

When using a direct quote

When paraphrasing an author’s line of thinking

When using a term or phrase an author introduced

When including statistics from a source

When including a copied image

From an article about alternative fuel:     Works Cited

“The ethanol source of the future, some experts say, is not the corn kernel but the stover--the stalk, cob and other portions of the plant that are currently fed to livestock, burned or left lying on the field -- as well as wheat residue, rice straw and fast-growing "energy crops" such as switchgrass or poplar trees. Such cellulosic ethanol, as it is called, "is dramatically more efficient than corn ethanol," says David Friedman, research director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Vehicles Program” (Hall 1).

Sentence and citation for use in a paper:                

According to the researcher David Friedman, in the future, what is called cellulosic ethanol will be made from stover, or the unused waste products of farming such as wheat residue, and is expected to be more efficient than corn ethanol (Hall 1).   (author’s last name followed by page number)

Try these links:    Paraphrasing strategies  and  Create a paraphrase

 
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From an article about George W. Bush:     Works Cited          

“The Republican George W. Bush became the 43d president of the United States under some of the most spellbinding circumstances in the history of American politics. The son of former president George Bush, he came into the 2000 presidential race with only five years' political experience, as governor of Texas, but raised more money for his campaign than any previous candidate for the presidency” ("Bush" 2).

Sentence and citation for use in a paper:              

“The Republican George W. Bush became the 43d president of the United States under some of the most spellbinding circumstances in the history of American politics” ("Bush" 2).  (no author, so title’s first word(s) in quotation marks, followed by page number)

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From an article on face lifts, quoting a doctor:     Works Cited

“In the longer run, says Olding, there will be more non-surgical alternatives to ‘cutting’ for facial rejuvenation. ‘Now we are able to tighten the face in one spot’ where the surgeon makes the incision and pulls the skin, he explains. What would it be like, Olding wonders, if you could ‘shrink wrap’ the face?” (Friedman n.pag).

Sentence and citation for use in a paper:               

Olding, a medical specialist, wonders if, in the future, facelifts could avoid cutting and be done through the shrinking of facial skin, sort of like shrink wrapping the face (Friedman n.pag). (author’s last name, no page number given)

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From the Big6 Web site:    Works Cited

“The Big6 is an information literacy model. Some people call it a metacognitive scaffold, or an information problem solving strategy. Developed by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz, the Big6 is the most widely-known and widely-used approach to teaching information and technology skills in the world” (Eisenberg 3). 

Sentence and citation for use in a paper:               

When teaching information problem solving, many teachers use the Big 6 information literacy model (Eisenberg 3).    (author’s last name followed by page number)


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From an article on the earning power of women:    Works Cited

“Thirty-seven years after the Equal Pay Act of 1963, American women working full time still earn an average of 74 cents for each dollar earned by men, according to a new report published jointly by the AFL-CIO and the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) in Washington” (Barko 1).

Sentence and citation for use in a paper:               

When women make an average of 74 cents for every dollar made be men, it is obvious that women are still not treated with equality (Barko 1).    (author’s last name followed by page number)

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From an article on immigration:     Works Cited               

     

 

               

 

Fig. 1  Chart of Immigrant settlement patterns
Katel, Peter. "Do illegal workers help of hurt the economy?"
CQ Researcher. 6 May 2005.   (figures would be numbered in the order in which you use them, and include source

information, with all double spaced)

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Works Cited

Copyright 2006 Carolyn Jackson