When writing a research paper, credit must be given to the sources used in its preparation. In the paper, more than one source is listed on a “works cited” page. A bibliography or “works cited” page is a list of sources used and appears at the end of the paper on a separate page. Crediting of the source is also done in-text. It-text documentation must indicate exactly which of the sources listed o the “works cited” page items is the source of the passage. This is sometimes referred to as the “citation.” The format of the citation style used in Randolph High School is MLA (MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers) and is as follows:
Form:
Capitalization:
Punctuation:
Abbreviations:
Parenthetical Documentation: In MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Gibaldi and Achtert state that when writing a research paper, “You must document not only your direct quotes and paraphrases but also information and ideas” (155). They state, “The list of works cited at the end of your research paper plays an important role in your acknowledgment of sources, but it does not in itself provide sufficiently detailed and precise documentation. The most practical way to supply this information is to insert brief parenthetical acknowledgements in your paper wherever you incorporate another’s words, facts, or ideas. Usually the author’s last name and a page reference are enough to identify the source and the specific location from which you have borrowed material” (Gibaldi and Achtert 155). Full bibliographical information is then included at the end of the paper in Works Cited. Note the example given below for the source I used for this paragraph.
Gibaldi, Joseph, and Walter S. Achtert. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research papers. New York: MLA, 1988.
Follow these basic guidelines in using parenthetical documentation:
For up-to-date information on bibliographic format, consult the following Web sites:
The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers: Citation Manager - (http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/hairston_awl/chapter4/deluxe.html)This site brings up lists of citation examples when you choose the MLA format.
Citation Styles Guide from Custom-Styles.org https://custom-writing.org/blog/citation_styles/mla
There are also numerous sites on the Web that help create bibliographic citations, such as:
NoodleBib - (http://www.noodletools.com) is an interactive bibliography composer that automates the process of creating a bibliography or works cited list. It will also add and edit references on the fly. NoodleBib takes care of punctuation and producing a polished bibliography that is correctly formatted to the MLA format and ready to print or import directly into your Word document. It covers both print and online sources. However, it does not cover inline/parenthetical citations.
EasyBib - (http://www.easybib.com) is also an interactive bibliography composer similar to NoodleBib but is less complicated and therefore offers fewer options. One drawback is that it does not allow for adding or editing within the bibliography itself but must be done within a word processor. It also does not cover inline/parenthetical citations.