ENGL 100 - Pierstorff - Spring 2021: Home

Begin your project by doing some background reading on your topic. Preliminary reading helps you:

• achieve a basic understanding of your issue. 
• begin to identify interesting specific questions that will form the backbone of your research; and
• start to acquire vital search terms you need in order to explore your subject more fully. 

Find sources on the topics that you identified in Step 1.

• Do a comprehensive search utilizing all the sources below; leave no stone unturned
• Print/save/email the sources you find as you go to avoid backtracking
• Read your sources several times, highlighting relevant information and making notes as you go.
• If you find sources that will help others in your team, SHARE THEM.
• If you have trouble finding the appropriate type or number of sources: MEET WITH A RESEARCH LIBRARIAN-- you can make an appointment in Canvas under Research Help; there are slots available JUST FOR YOU on Mon & Weds nights 5-9 or Fri-Sat-Sun mornings 8-11. 

• Make an appointment with writing center staff at least once. They will help you get started, proceed, and/or finish. This is a free service that you should always utilize to maximize your success.
• Utilize the MJC Library & Learning Center's FORMAT & CITE page to aid with MLA. A research librarian can provide face-to-face assistance with formatting and citing as well. 

What Are In-Text Citations?

MLA tells us that, in-text citations are brief references within the body of your paper that direct readers to the works-cited-list entries for the sources you consulted and, where relevant, to the location in the source being cited. 

The citation can appear within your prose (your written text) or in parentheses.

You need to cite all direct quotations, paraphrased information, and summarized ideas.

What To Include in an In-Text Citation

• An in-text citation begins with the shortest piece of information that di­rects your reader to the entry in the works-cited list. Therefore, it begins with what ever comes first in the entry: the author’s name or the title (or descrip­tion) of the work.
• Most often, an MLA in-text citation begins with the author's last name followed by the page number: (Jones 14).
• If there is no author, use the "Title" of the source:  ("Global Warming" 129).
• If page numbers are available, they MUST be listed. This often means examining the pdf version of database articles to locate page numbers.
• For most citations, the parenthetical reference is placed BEFORE the punctuation: Magnesium can be effective in treating PMS (Haggerty 42).
• Direct quotes longer than 4 lines are indented an extra 1/2 inch, the quotation marks are removed, and the parenthetical comes AFTER punctuation.
• If author name or title is used within the text, do NOT list it again within parenthesis. Haggerty notes magnesium is effective at relieving some symptoms of PMS (42).

For more on in-text citations, see In-Text Citations: An Overview from the MLA Style Center.

Citation Examples and Template:

 Each citation in your list of works cited is composed of elements common to most works. These are called the MLA core elements. They are assembled in a specific order as shown to the right.

Use the links below to see examples of source citations and practice using one of the templates.

If you don't find what you need below, check out the MLA's, Ask the MLA.

Handouts:

Citation Examples by Format: