Your Ideas Are the Star!
When you begin to write your research paper, remember that you will need to present an original discussion of your ideas that are supported by the results of your research. Your ideas are the star of the show; your sources are the supporting cast.
Sometimes it can be difficult to incorporate the ideas of other writers smoothly into your paragraphs while still maintaining the flow and cohesiveness of your discussion.
Research papers demand the use of sources. Often, when students learn to write research papers, they learn to indicate what their sources are with parenthetical citations at appropriate places in their text.
Note the following example:
By 1992 it was apparent that the American health care system, though impressive in many ways, needed “to be fixed and perhaps
radically modified” (Public Agenda Foundation 4).
Using sources is like engaging in a conversation, in which differing views on a topic are represented by different writers With this in mind, consider referring to your sources directly in your text as if you are reporting on what the other authors have said during a conversation:
As the Public Agenda Foundation has pointed out, it was apparent by 1992 that the American health care system, though
impressive in many ways, needed “to be fixed and perhaps radically modified” (4).
Sometimes it can be difficult to incorporate the ideas of other writers smoothly into your paragraphs while still maintaining the flow and cohesiveness of your discussion.
Research papers demand the use of sources. Often, when students learn to write research papers, they learn to indicate what their sources are with parenthetical citations at appropriate places in their text.
Note the following example:
By 1992 it was apparent that the American health care system, though impressive in many ways, needed “to be fixed and perhaps
radically modified” (Public Agenda Foundation 4).
Using sources is like engaging in a conversation, in which differing views on a topic are represented by different writers With this in mind, consider referring to your sources directly in your text as if you are reporting on what the other authors have said during a conversation:
As the Public Agenda Foundation has pointed out, it was apparent by 1992 that the American health care system, though
impressive in many ways, needed “to be fixed and perhaps radically modified” (4).
MLA In-Text Citation
In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what is known as parenthetical citation. This method involves placing relevant source information in parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase.
General Guidelines
(2) the source’s entry on the Works Cited page.
Author-Page Style
MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:
Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford U.P., 1967. Print.
It's important to know that parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.
In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author
When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (e.g. articles) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire websites) and provide a page number.
We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has “more readily accessible climatic data
and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . . ” (“Impact of Global Warming” 6).
In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title of the article appears in the parenthetical citation which corresponds to the full name of the article which appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page.
The Works Cited entry appears as follows:
“The Impact of Global Warming in North America.” GLOBAL WARMING: Early Signs. 1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.
Citing Non-Print or Sources from the Internet
With more and more scholarly work being posted on the Internet, you may have to cite research you have completed in virtual environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source in your Works Cited.
Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. Do not include the page number if a work lacks page numbers, as is the case with many Web sources. Even if a printout from a Web site shows page numbers, treat the source as unpaginated in the in-text citation because not all printouts give the same page numbers. (When the pages of a Web source are stable, as in PDF files, supply a page number in your in-text citation.)
For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:
As a 2005 study by Salary.com and America Online indicates, the Internet ranked as the top choice among employees for ways of
wasting time on the job; it beat talking with co-workers—the second most popular method—by a margin of nearly two to one
(Frauenheim).
When a Citation Is Not Needed
Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations or common knowledge. Remember, this is a rhetorical choice, based on audience. If you're writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, they'll have different expectations of what constitutes common knowledge.
General Guidelines
- The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends upon
(2) the source’s entry on the Works Cited page.
- Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to identify the source to your readers in the text, must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry in the Works Cited List.
Author-Page Style
MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:
Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford U.P., 1967. Print.
It's important to know that parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages allow readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their own scholarly work.
In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author
When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead of an author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (e.g. articles) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television shows, entire websites) and provide a page number.
We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has “more readily accessible climatic data
and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . . ” (“Impact of Global Warming” 6).
In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an abbreviated title of the article appears in the parenthetical citation which corresponds to the full name of the article which appears first at the left-hand margin of its respective entry in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page.
The Works Cited entry appears as follows:
“The Impact of Global Warming in North America.” GLOBAL WARMING: Early Signs. 1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.
Citing Non-Print or Sources from the Internet
With more and more scholarly work being posted on the Internet, you may have to cite research you have completed in virtual environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source in your Works Cited.
Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers. Do not include the page number if a work lacks page numbers, as is the case with many Web sources. Even if a printout from a Web site shows page numbers, treat the source as unpaginated in the in-text citation because not all printouts give the same page numbers. (When the pages of a Web source are stable, as in PDF files, supply a page number in your in-text citation.)
For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:
- Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
- You do not need to give paragraph numbers or page numbers.
- Do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like CNN.com or Forbes.com as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.
As a 2005 study by Salary.com and America Online indicates, the Internet ranked as the top choice among employees for ways of
wasting time on the job; it beat talking with co-workers—the second most popular method—by a margin of nearly two to one
(Frauenheim).
When a Citation Is Not Needed
Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known quotations or common knowledge. Remember, this is a rhetorical choice, based on audience. If you're writing for an expert audience of a scholarly journal, for example, they'll have different expectations of what constitutes common knowledge.
Using Signal Phrases
It is important to remember that an in-text citation only documents the sentence it is a part of. Simply placing a citation at the end of several sentences from a single source leaves at least one sentence undocumented.
To avoid this problem, when using direct quotations in a research report or documented essay, use signal phrases to identify the source and type of information (facts, opinions, observations, etc.) and to help readers distinguish the author’s information from your own. This prevents you from dropping quotations, which can confuse your reader and make them think that a specific idea or opinion is yours when, in fact, it comes from a source. Effective signal phrases include the author’s name or source title and usually an action verb that characterizes the information. Try varying the placement and language of the signal phrase to avoid repetition. The following sample signal phrases show how their placement and language can be varied to avoid repetition:
Verbs to Use in Signal Phrases
acknowledges explores concedes justifies defends proposes admits
argues insists declares points out claims contends demonstrates
compares observes declares adds grants questions agrees
writes accepts emphasizes believes illustrates comments denies
disputes asserts follows confirms implies recognizes refutes
To avoid this problem, when using direct quotations in a research report or documented essay, use signal phrases to identify the source and type of information (facts, opinions, observations, etc.) and to help readers distinguish the author’s information from your own. This prevents you from dropping quotations, which can confuse your reader and make them think that a specific idea or opinion is yours when, in fact, it comes from a source. Effective signal phrases include the author’s name or source title and usually an action verb that characterizes the information. Try varying the placement and language of the signal phrase to avoid repetition. The following sample signal phrases show how their placement and language can be varied to avoid repetition:
- Serrano and Coronado argue that “…” (87).
- As Joe Molina notes, “…”
- Patti Buenrostro, Associate Professor of Spanish Literature, contends that “…”
- “…,” states Carlos Fuentes, “but …” (141).
- “…,” according to TAMIU President Dr. Ray Keck.
- Television news broadcaster Roy Herrera offers another perspective: “…”
Verbs to Use in Signal Phrases
acknowledges explores concedes justifies defends proposes admits
argues insists declares points out claims contends demonstrates
compares observes declares adds grants questions agrees
writes accepts emphasizes believes illustrates comments denies
disputes asserts follows confirms implies recognizes refutes
Building Your Body Paragraphs
To build your body paragraphs, start with your outline and the notes from your sources.
Begin your paragraph with an original topic sentence - not an idea from a note - that establishes the single focus of the paragraph related to the thesis
Avoid stringing together direct quotations and paraphrases from your notes by including your own sentences that introduce, explain or clarify the information. Remember that the purpose of your research is to support what you have to say. Make your point then support it with your research. And cite the source of all the research that
you use.
End the paragraph with an original concluding sentencethat provides a summary and/or transition. If the last item in a body paragraph is a citation, you do not have an original concluding sentence.
Begin your paragraph with an original topic sentence - not an idea from a note - that establishes the single focus of the paragraph related to the thesis
Avoid stringing together direct quotations and paraphrases from your notes by including your own sentences that introduce, explain or clarify the information. Remember that the purpose of your research is to support what you have to say. Make your point then support it with your research. And cite the source of all the research that
you use.
End the paragraph with an original concluding sentencethat provides a summary and/or transition. If the last item in a body paragraph is a citation, you do not have an original concluding sentence.