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MLA Citations

Middle School

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Why Do We Do Research?

  • Explore interesting topics and opinions

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  • Believe it or not, you were not born an expert on your topic! You MUST research and cite your sources.

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What is PLAGIARISM?

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What is Plagiarism?

  • Using a direct quote or even someone else’s ideas in your own words
  • Changing the wording (PARAPHRASING) is not enough…you MUST CITE YOUR SOURCES
  • When in doubt, CITE…it’s better to be safe than sorry!

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What is NOT Plagiarism?

  • Well-known facts do not need to be cited
    • Ex. The capitol of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg.
    • Ex. George Washington was the first president of the United States.
  • If your reader probably knows the information, you do not need to cite.
    • Ex. Walt Disney founded the Disney company and created one of the most well-known cartoon characters of all time, Mickey Mouse. (NOT PLAGIARISM)
    • Ex. Raised on a farm near Marceline, Missouri, Walt became interested in drawing at an early age, selling his sketches to neighbors when he was only seven years old. (PLAGIARISM IF NOT CITED)

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Citations

  • In order to avoid plagiarism, we must cite our sources
  • There is a method of citing sources, and certain “ingredients” are needed in a specific order for he citation to be correct and in MLA format.

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Citation Salad (will change by type)

MLA Citation Bowl

STEP 1: Author

STEP 2: Title

STEP 3: Publisher and Location

STEP 4: Copyright Year

STEP 5: Source Type

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Basic Format

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

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Gleick, James. Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

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Your Turn

Open the Google Doc in the Classroom titled “MLA Worksheet.” Complete #1, using the book on your desk.

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Other Sources

MLA has a different format for every type of source:

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  • Book
  • Journal
  • Encyclopedia
  • Website
  • Blog
  • Magazine
  • Interview

and lots more!!

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Citing Websites

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Lastname, Firstname. Name of Site. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Web. Date of access.

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Example:

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 May 2006.

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Your Turn

Go back to the worksheet in Google Classroom and complete #2. When you are finished, make sure to submit it to Dr. Hall

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You may now read until the end of class.

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How Do We Keep Track?

We can use the MLA handbook

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OR…

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We can let the computer do it for us with

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EASYBIB!

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Set Up an Account

Before we learn how to use Easybib, let’s set up an account. This will let you save your work as you go, so you won’t have to start over when you log out of a computer.

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SHORTCUT

Type in the ISBN number without dashes

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TRY IT! Make sure Book is selected, then type in:

978-1-61783-321-2

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Websites

    • Let’s try it with a Website
    • Go to Google and type in One Direction news article
    • Locate an article and copy and paste its URL into EasyBib (make sure you select the Website tab)
    • Click Autocite
    • You can copy and paste the citation right into a Google Docs for your Works Cited page

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In-Text Citations

  • In-text citations need to be used ANY TIME you state a fact or idea that is not your own (even if you put it in your own words).
  • It should always include the FIRST ITEM in your citation
    • Usually this will be the author’s name
    • If no name, then use the title of the work
  • If from a book or article, it should also include the PAGE NUMBER
  • In-text citations always go inside parentheses ()
  • In-text citations come at the end of the sentence, before the period.

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In-Text Citation Pizza

In-Text Citation Pizza

STEP 1: Author’s Last Name in Parentheses

(Hall

STEP 2: Page Number and end parentheses

(Hall 156).

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In-Text Pizza

  • Your turn!
  • Use the motorcycle article. Re-write any sentence from the page in your own words, and then use an in-text citation at the end of your paraphrasing.
  • Share your response on the Google Doc.

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Quick Quiz

  • Which of the following do you NOT need to cite?
    • A) something that is common knowledge
    • B) a direct quote
    • C) a paraphrase of someone’s ideas
  • Which of the following do you need to include in your citations at the end of your paper?
    • A) Author’s Name
    • B) Title of book or Website.
    • C) Year published.
    • D) All of the above.
  • Which of the following should be included in an in-text citation?
    • A) Author’s last name
    • B) Parentheses
    • C) Page number
    • D) All of the above

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Wrap-Up

  • Research involves using and citing resources.
  • When citing resources, you need a citation for your Works Cited page AND in-text citations within your paper.
  • Remember Citation Salad and In-text Citation Pizza.
  • You can use online tools such as Citation Machine or EasyBib to help you with your citations, but always double-check your results.