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You’ve done your research, collected your arguments, and are ready to start writing your assignment. How do you add this information to your assignment? There are three ways.
You can:
Using the works of others, you can put their main ideas or findings into your own words and expressions. This is a great approach for when you need to synthesize big ideas or multiple points of a broader concept.
You can use this approach to reword a concept or passage from a work into your own words. This approach helps ensure your writing has a proper flow.
You can directly quote an author’s passage by placing it in quotations. You should use this approach when the author has expressed the idea in a way that would lose its impact if you rephrased it. The words in your quotation must directly match the original source.
Any time you use a source—whether you summarize, paraphrase, or use a quotation—the author's ideas must be properly attributed.
There are two ways that in-text citations can fit within your sentence: narrative and parenthetical.
The names of the authors are included in the sentence. The page number appears in parentheses immediate after the author names.
The names of the authors are not included in the sentence, but their findings are. Both the author names and the page number appear in the parenthesis.
A parenthetical citation can appear within or at the end of a sentence. When a parenthetical citation is at the end of a sentence, put a period after the closing parentheses.
Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the MLA Handbook (8th ed.)
When you incorporate a direct quotation into a sentence, you must cite the source and ensure the quote is recorded exactly (p. 75). Fit quotations within your sentences, making sure the sentences are grammatically correct:
If the quotation will run to more than 4 lines in your paper, use a block format in which the quotation is indented 1/2 an inch from the left margin, with no quotation marks (pp. 76-77).
Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the MLA Handbook (8th ed.)
If you need to leave out part of a quotation to make it fit grammatically or because it contains irrelevant/unnecessary information, insert ellipses (. . .) to mark the omission (pp. 80-81).
If you must add or slightly change words within a quotation for reasons of grammar or clarity, explain the change in parentheses after the quotation or indicate the change by using square brackets within the quotation (p. 86).
Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the MLA Handbook (8th ed.)
When you put information into your own words by summarizing or paraphrasing, you must still cite the original author or researcher as well as the page or paragraph number(s) (p. 57).
Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the MLA Handbook (8th ed.)
If a source contains no page numbers, as can be the case with electronic sources, then you cannot include a page number in the parentheses. However, if the source indicates paragraph numbers, use the abbreviation “par.” or “pars.” and the relevant numbers in the parentheses. If page, paragraph, or other kind of part numbers are not available, this information can be left out of the in-text citation.
Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the MLA Handbook (8th ed.)
When citing 2-3 lines of poetry, insert a "/" (without the quotes) between the lines.
When citing more than three lines of poetry, begin the quotation on a new line and indent each of the lines 1/2 an inch from the left margin.
If the poem is published in an edition with numbered lines, you may use those instead of page numbers to indicate the original location of your quote.
Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the MLA Handbook (8th ed.)
When referencing the lines of only one character, follow the guidelines for poetry and prose.
When quoting a conversation between two or more characters in a play, start the quote on a new line, indented 1/2 an inch from the left margin. Write the name of the first speaker in capital letters, followed by a period and the speaker's line(s). Do the same for the next speaker(s) as necessary.
If the quote you are using for one of the speakers continues onto another line, it is indented an additional amount.
When citing prose plays, use the page number first, followed by a semicolon and then other identifying information (e.g. Miller 9; Act 1). When citing verse plays with line numbers provided, use those instead of page numbers, separating division numbers with a period (see example above).
Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the MLA Handbook (8th ed.)
Sometimes an author writes about work that someone else has done, but you are unable to track down the original source. In this case, because you did not read the original source, you will include only the source you did consult in the Works Cited list. The abbreviation “qtd.” in the in-text citation indicates you have not read the original source.
If you use information from another source, that source must be cited. This includes:
You don't need to cite information that is considered "common knowledge." Common knowledge includes facts that are known by a lot of people and can be found in many sources. For example, you do not need to cite:
What is considered "common knowledge" can change based on a person's culture, academic discipline, or peer group.
To decide whether information is "common knowledge," consider:
When in doubt, cite the source! Citation adds credibility to your writing and highlights the accuracy of your information.
Red Deer Polytechnic recognizes that our campus is situated on Treaty 7 land, the traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina and Stoney Nakoda peoples, and that the central Alberta region we serve falls under Treaty 6, traditional Métis, Cree and Saulteaux territory. We honour the First Peoples who have lived here since time immemorial, and we give thanks for the land where RDP sits. This is where we will strive to honour and transform our relationships with one another.