DOCUMENTING RESEARCH SOURCES ACCORDING TO THE MLA
**DOCUMENTATION EXERCISES: OPTIONAL |
LEAD-IN DEVICES AND PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES
Documenting sources means giving credit to the
sources of your information in the body of the research essay. You will recall that you
need to give credit to at least 3 sources in the body of your essay. Without
documenting sources, the essay is 1) not research, 2) merely
an opinion paper, 3) plagiarism when outside sources are used and are
not documented. You will also recall that you are required to use a complete lead-in technique plus parenthetical reference the
first time you cite a source in the essay. You may use a partial lead-in technique the second or subsequent times
you cite the same source, but not before.
Also, remember that all lead-in
techniques require parenthetical references with printed materials. No
parenthetical references go with non-printed materials,
but it is still the writer's obligation to make clear to the reader when a source is no
longer being used. This page will define the phrase
"Documenting Sources," will define the various lead-in techniques (with
examples), and provide a table for supplying the correct information in the parenthetical
references. For further information on Documenting Sources, see a MLA Style
Manual or our source: Edward J. Martin's A Guide to Writing Papers, Third
ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. 135-138.
DOCUMENTING SOURCES [A GENERAL EXPLANATION OF THE CONCEPT]
When writing a research paper, you are obligated to give credit to others whenever you use their facts, opinions, judgments, organizational structures, and visual aids. Naturally, you must use some common sense in deciding what to document. For instance, you need not cite familiar sayings such as "Count your blessings" or well-known quotations like "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" In general, you may consider information that occurs in five or more sources general knowledge. The fact that school teacher Christa McAuliffe was killed when the spaceship Challenger exploded need not be documented even if you would record it while reading a book or encyclopedia.
When you have doubts about whether to give credit or not, consult the following list. You should give credit for these citations:
1. Any exact wording of three or more consecutive words copied from a source.
2. A summary of original ideas from a source.
3. Factual information taken from a source that is not common knowledge.
4. Any original ideas taken from a source, whether quoted or paraphrased.
5. Phrasing that is distinctive or noteworthy in style, even if it repeats common knowledge.
6. Charts, graphs, tables, and other graphic elements.
MLA Documentation: 1. 2. 3.
Giving credit is called documenting your sources. There are many acceptable documentation systems. The MLA (Modern Language Association) style described here is used at colleges and universities throughout the country, especially in departments of humanities and the arts. It is acceptable in classes at Columbus State unless your instructor stipulates otherwise. This system uses parenthetical references to identify the sources clearly and accurately. Generally the system requires these three parts: (1) the lead-in, (2) the note, and (3) the parenthetical reference.
LEAD-IN DEVICES: DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES
1. A LEAD-IN DEVICE [DEFINED]
This tag signals that the material you are about to give has been borrowed. It prevents your cited material from running together with your own discussion, and thus avoids confusion. [It signals the point where the borrowing from a particular source begins.] There are several types of lead-in devices.
THE COMPLETE LEAD-IN DEVICE
Some instructors prefer that you use a complete lead-in device the first time that you borrow from a source. This lead-in includes both the author and the title in some combination. For example:
In Diet for a Small Planet, Francis Moore Lappe argues for vegetarianism as a diet for better health.
Peter Singer's Animal Liberation criticizes "speciesism"--the attitude people project that says no animals but humans think, create, or feel pain.
NOTICE: I expect you to use the author's full name and the main title of the work in your complete lead-in devices.
Notice the words "argues" and "criticizes" in the above examples. These words are called interpretive vocabulary. Pay attention to how your source presents the material: it is much different to say that a source "argues" some point than it is to say the source "states" the point.
PARTIAL LEAD-IN DEVICES
Some instructors prefer that you always use a simpler lead-in. And most prefer a simpler tag after you have once used a complete lead-in for a source. This simpler tag can use just the author's last name (if there is only one author with this name in your works cited), or just the title of the book or article, or just the name of the periodical. For example:
Lappe provides sample vegetarian recipes.
Animal Liberation illustrates the ways animals have been brutalized on factory farms.
"The Vegetarian Good Life" explains how one can stay meat-free even when dining in a restaurant.
According to Prevention magazine, "people who eat vegetarian diets have a lower risk of developing cancer."
Some writers use not a specific name or title but a more general term to signal the use of source materials. This lead-in is most effective if it adequatelyl signals that the following material has been borrowed and if the tag is appropriate to your topic. [It should be noted, however, that claiming that Animal rights advocates maintain "something," is tantamount to saying that all animal rights advocates are in agreement about that "something." CAUTION!] The following are typical generic lead-in devices:
Animal rights advocates maintain . . .
Researchers have discovered. . .
Art critics argue. . .
Historians have concluded. . .
Legal advisors for Planned Parents say. . .
2. THE CITATION DEFINED [BORROWED MATERIALS]
Your borrowed material may be a direct quotation (when you use three or more consecutive words from the original), a summary, or a paraphrase. Sometimes your citation may be a visual aid--a graph, chart, or table that you have borrowed.
3. THE PARENTHETICAL
REFERENCE [DEFINED]
The parenthetical reference comes at the end of the citation and thus tells your reader you are no longer borrowing from the source. What you use in the parenthetical reference depends on how you phrase the lead-in. The following chart illustrates the basic combinations of lead-in devices and parenthetical notations. The lead-in devices in the left-hand column require the parenthetical notations listed in the right-hand column.
NOTICE:
There must never be any doubt as to where the borrowing begins and ends for a source. It
is the writer's obligation to make the beginning and ending points clear.
DOCUMENTATION TABLE
IF THIS LEAD-IN TECHNIQUE, THEN------------------THIS GOES IN THE PARENTHETICAL REFERENCE
Author and Title or just author in lead-in-------------------------------------------Just Page Number
Peter Singer's Animal Liberation argues that . .
.------------------------------------(122-27).
Francis Moore Lappe explains that. .
.--------------------------------------------------(37).
Title, Generic Lead-in, or Name of
Periodical----------------------------------------Author's last name or first main word
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------of
title if no author + page number.
Diet for a Small Planet explains. .
.-------------------------------------------------------(Lappe 40-42).
"Why I Choose to Veg Out" discusses. .
.----------------------------------------------(Moore 267).
Vegetarians maintain that. .
.---------------------------------------------------------------(Shulman 37).
Prevention magazine reports that. .
.------------------------------------------------------("Vegetarians" 8). [No
author]
NOTICE:
There is no punctuation separating an author's name or title from the page numbers.
You
have seen the typical elements for documenting a source. . . .Remember that references in
the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited.
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