When Including a Direct Quote
When you provide an in-text citation, you are showing which information came from which source. It corresponds with your Works Cited.
When including a direct quote:
- The sense of what the author meant would be best if their exact words were used, otherwise you should be putting it into your own words (paraphrasing)
- Put quotation marks around the words that are copied from the source
When paraphrasing:
- When you’ve found the idea elsewhere, but have put it into your own words
Citing online sources:
- Follow the same guidelines as below; however, you will usually not have a page number
Works Cited / Direct quote / Paraphrase
1 author / Wordsworth, William.Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford UP, 1967. / Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
OR
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).
OR
The role of emotion in the creative process was extensively explored (Wordsworth263).
2 authors / Best, David, and Sharon Marcus. “Surface Reading: An Introduction.”Representations, vol. 108, no. 1, Fall 2009, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.1525/rep.2009.108.1.1 / Best and Marcus claim that surface reading looks at what is “evident, perceptible, apprehensible in texts” (9).
OR
The authors claim that surface reading looks at what is “evident, perceptible, apprehensible in texts” (Best and Marcus 9). / Best and Marcus argue that one should read a text for what it says on its surface, rather than looking for some hidden meaning (9).
OR
One should read a text for what it says on its surface, rather than looking for some hidden meaning (Best and Marcus9).
3+ authors / Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies and the American Obesity Epidemic.”American Journal of Preventative Medicine, vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 327-333. / According to Franck et al, “Current agricultural policies in the U.S. are contributing to the poor health of Americans” (327).
OR
According to the authors, “Current agricultural policies in the U.S. are contributing to the poor health of Americans” (Franck et al327). / Franck et al claim that one cause of obesity in the United States is government-funded farm subsidies (327).
OR
The authors claim that one cause of obesity in the United States is government-funded farm subsidies (Franck et al. 327).
Corporate author / Same rules as 1 author, but use the corporation’s name instead. / Same rules as 1 author, but use the corporation’s name instead. Abbreviate things like National to Nat’l, or Corporation to Corp, or Limited to Ltd, etc. / Same rules as 1 author, but use the corporation’s name instead. Abbreviate things like National to Nat’l, or Corporation to Corp, or Limited to Ltd, etc.
Authors with the same last name / There will be 2 different ones in your Works Cited.
(In text, add their first initial as well as their last name) / Although some medical ethicists, such as R. Miller, claim that cloning will lead to designer children (12), others like A. Millernote that the advantages for medical research outweigh this consideration (46). / Although some medical ethicists claim that cloning will lead to designer children (R. Miller 12), others note that the advantages for medical research outweigh this consideration (A. Miller 46).
More than one source from the same author / List sources separately in your Works Cited
(In text, add the name of the article/book as well as their last name/s) / Murray states that writing is "a process" that "varies with our thinking style" (Write to Learn6). Additionally, Murray argues that the purpose of writing is to "carry ideas and information from the mind of one person into the mind of another" (A Writer Teaches Writing3). / Lightenor has argued that computers are not useful tools for small children ("Too Soon" 38), though he has acknowledged elsewhere that early exposure to computer games does lead to better small motor skill development in a child's second and third year ("Hand-Eye Development" 17).
More than one source provided a piece of information / There will be 2 different ones in your Works Cited.
(In text, provide the information, then reference all of the sources right away) / …as has been discussed by Burke (3) and Dewey (21). / . . . as has been discussed elsewhere (Burke 3; Dewey 21).
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