MLA: Why Cite?
- Why Citing Sources is Important
- MLA Citations Explained
- Highline College Library's Guide to Citing Sources in MLA Format
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Why Citing Sources is Important
In college, we know that we must cite our sources so we don't plagiarize, which is considered a form of cheating and goes against the Academic Honesty Policy. But there's actually much more to citing than that.
- Citations give credit to the person whose ideas or words we are using. Whenever we use sources such as books, journals, websites, or images in our research, we must give credit to the original author by citing the source.
- Citations also add strength and authority to our work. By citing our sources we are placing our work in a specific context to show where the sources “fit” within the larger conversation.
- Citations also give our readers the information they need to find that source again, providing an important guide to our research and writing process.
Although many people think citing sources is only needed in school papers, projects, and presentations, it is possible that we may have future jobs which require research. We may need to research a topic for a boss and provide a presentation they can use at an upcoming meeting. Or we may have a job that requires us to do research and publish our results. Proper citations are necessary to provide our boss or readers with information about which resources we used and where they can find them, if needed.
All information on this page is adapted from the following source except where otherwise noted.
"Citing Your Sources: The Basics Canvas Module" by Seattle Central College Library (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Now click the MLA Citations Explained tab.
MLA Citations Explained
When we're writing a paper, giving a speech, or preparing a presentation, we must make it clear what information is our own ideas and what information comes from other sources. We use citations for this purpose.
There are two places citations are used: in the text of the paper or presentation, and in a Works Cited page at then end of the paper or presentation. (Note: In a speech, we verbally state our source in brief format, and then we include a Works Cited page with the outline submitted to the instructor.)
The in-text citation (also called a parenthetical citation) is a short visual cue in the paper or presentation that lets the reader know they will find a fuller citation in the Works Cited page at the end. The in-text citation includes the author(s) and the page number(s), if page numbers are available.
The longer citation in the Works Cited page is called a bibliographic citation, and it tells us all of the necessary information to find that source, should we want to. Bibliographic citations in MLA style always start with an author's (or creator's) last name, unless there is no author and then they start with the title of the work we're citing. The Works Cited page goes at the end of our research paper, project, or presentation, and it includes a detailed list of sources we used in our paper.
Note: A Bibliography is a list of all the sources we looked at while doing our research while a Works Cited page is a list including only the sources we actually cited in our research project. For most student research, instructors will ask for a Works Cited page.
The example below shows what an MLA in-text citation looks like, and what the corresponding Works Cited page citation looks like. Notice that the in-text citation must include the same author information as the longer bibliographic citation in the Works Cited list so that our reader can easily find it.
Image source: IRIS 4-2: Copyright (c) 2008 IRIS 4-2 Washington State E-Learning Council. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the IRIS 4-2 Open Publication License (the latest version is presently available at http://library.clark.edu/projects/iris-4-2 (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site.) and TILT Open Publication License (copyright © 1998-2004 by The University of Texas System Digital Library).
Now click the Highline College Library's Guide to Citing Sources in MLA Format tab.
Highline College Library's Guide to Citing Sources in MLA Format
The Highline College Library provides MLA citation information online so it's available whenever needed.
There are many other places where you can find MLA citation and formatting information. Here are two examples:
- MLA Formatting and Style Guide Links to an external site. from the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University
- MLA Style Website Links to an external site.
- MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition)
Links to an external site. from Columbia College (Vancouver, Canada)
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