Documentation

How to include MLA or APA in text and in the references.

Prepared by Bonnie Startt 3/22/06

Tidewater Community College

There are several common forms of documentation: MLA, APA, CBE and Chicago(Turabian) are the most common

MLA is what is used by the humanities– it is from the Modern Language Association

APA is used by the the form used by the psychology divisions- it is from the American Psychological Association.

There are several common forms of documentation: MLA, APA, CBE and Chicago(Turabian) are the most common.

The science oriented fields use CBE– the Council of Biological Editors, now the Council of Science Editors.

The history studies use the Chicago Style Manual for documentation. Kate Turabian created a more simple book for academic research which is used often.

When do we have to document information?

The most obvious time we document is when we use an

exact quote from someone else’s text.

If we use part of someone’s text, we must give credit.

If we paraphrase (put in our own words) someone else’s

work, we must give credit to the author.

If we summarize someone else’s work, we must credit the

author.

What do we have to document?

If we quote from any text written by someone else (even if it was not published).We must give credit to another person’s ideas, or theories.We give credit to art work, radio, t.v. and any other creative work.We give credit to maps, charts, etc created by another person.

What---continued

We must be aware that people make their living from their ideas, and we must be fair. In the academic setting not following the fair use and documentation rules will result in an F. In the workplace, that same action can cost you your job.

What this is going to do.

Please, be aware that I will be demonstrating internal documentation. The use of footnotes and endnotes are cumbersome and not used in standard writing. The next pages will offer several examples of items which must documented. Because MLA and APA are the most common, I will demonstrate how to do each of these. Make sure you have a good handbook. We are using the Diana Hacker handbook, and she has an excellent web site to help. http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/home.html

Here is a quote. Do you see where the end punctuation went?

MLA

“ Ask the average man what is more important to him, making money or being devoted to his family, and virtually everyone will answer family without hesitation” (Kushner 15).

APA

“ Ask the average man what is more important to him, making money or being devoted to his family, and virtually everyone will answer family without hesitation” (Kushner, 1986, p. 15).

You do not have to use the whole quote. You can use an ellipsis (…)to show information has been left out. Don’t forget to use a comma to introduce or show the end of a quote.

Kushner has found, “… virtually everyone will answer family without hesitation” (15).Kushner has found, “ Ask the average man …virtually everyone will answer family without hesitation” (15).

“ Ask the average man what is more important to him, making money or being devoted to his family… ,” commented Kushner (15).

Just an aside– did you ever see this <sic>? It means that there was an error in your quote, like a misspelled word, but you did not make the error.You may use [ ] to clarify a point. He [John] was the one.

If the author’s name or the title of the work is included in your text, the format changes slightly.

Kushner found that if you, “Ask the average man what is more important to him, making money or being devoted to his family, and virtually everyone will answer family without hesitation” (15).

Kushner (1986) found that if you, “Ask the average man what is more important to him, making money or being devoted to his family, and virtually everyone will answer family without hesitation” (p.15).

Long quotes get special care.

In the MLA if you have more than 4 lines of text, it must be set off. In APA the requirement is 40 words. The format is the same in both cases. Provide an introduction followed by a colon(:) move to the next line and indent. If this is a new paragraph you will indent twice. Please note that if there was more room it would be double spaced. Also note that you do not need quotations –the author information follows the end punctuation.

This is an important fact about a new development in the conversation about the minimum wage: Baltimore is at the forefront, however, and the reasons why shed a lot of light on this movement. The city has been going downhill since the 1950s, losing private-sector jobs and population at a steady clip. Since 1990 the fall in private sector employment has become an avalanche--down 17.2%. (84)

What is the difference between online and paper?

Today you may be hard-pressed to find a magazine on the bookshelves of your local library. Tidewater Community College is ordering many of our magazines online. You must be aware that there are different methods of treating these differences. For example magazines have page numbers whereas web pages do not. There are online magazines, but these differ in treatment from data bases like InfoTrac. Check your handbook for details.

Here is a line from an article as it would be noted if it was paper and then web based.

Baltimore, Milwaukee and Santa Clara County in California have enacted laws mandating a minimum wage above the federal level (Hanke 87). Or (Hanke).

Baltimore, Milwaukee and Santa Clara County in California have enacted laws mandating a minimum wage above the federal level (Hanke, 1996, p.87). Or (Hanke, 1996).

The page where you list your sources that you actually used is called a Works Cited in MLA and References in APA.

These pages only list the information you actually used in your paper. If you are required to list everything you looked at, you would create a Bibliography. These pages are all listed in alphabetical order by author’s name if the entry does not have an author, use the title in its place. The heading is centered and the entry begins at the one inch margin. The second and subsequent lines are indented.

Here is your end page:

Works Cited

Hanke, Stephen. “Looks Like Charity, Smells Like Pork.” Forbes. May 6, 1996: 87.

OR--online

Hanke, Stephen. “Looks Like Charity, Smells Like Pork.” Forbes. May 6, 1996: 87. InfoTrac. Tidewater Community Coll. Lib., VA Beach. 22 Mar. 2006 http://infotrac.

Kushner, Harold. When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough. Simon &Schuster, New York, 1996.

References

Hanker, S. (1996). “Looks like charity, smells like pork.” Forbes, 87.

OR--online

Hanke, S. (1996). “Looks like charity, smells like pork.” Forbe, 87.Retrieved March 22, 2006 from InfoTrac.

Kushner, H. (1996). When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough. New York: Simon &Schuster.

Work hard and always double check your handbook!

Keep in mind the rules may change,

so always look it up.

Good luck and allow plenty of time. The Writing Center in the B Building will be happy to proofread or help you at any stage of writing.