MLA Works Cited and In text Citations tutorial
Summary
TLDRProfessor Morgan's video offers a detailed guide on MLA formatting, emphasizing the correct use of 'Works Cited' and in-text citations. It clarifies that 'Works Cited' should be alphabetized without bold or underline, and must include the required number of sources. The video also explains the proper placement of the 'Works Cited' page and the necessity of matching in-text citations with listed sources. Examples of common MLA mistakes are provided for educational purposes, aiming to help students avoid them.
Takeaways
- 📚 MLA citations use a 'Works Cited' page, not 'References', and it should not be in bold or underlined.
- 🔠 All entries on the Works Cited page should be in alphabetical order and use a hanging indent format.
- 📄 The Works Cited page does not count towards the required page count of your paper and starts on a new page.
- 🔗 Any source cited in the text must also appear on the Works Cited page, and vice versa.
- ✍️ In-text citations can be done in two ways: by introducing the source within the text (narrative citation) or by placing the citation at the end in parentheses (parenthetical citation).
- 📝 If quoting directly, the period comes after the parenthetical citation, not before.
- 🖥️ If a source doesn't have a page number (like online sources), you can omit the page number from the in-text citation.
- ❗ In-text citations are necessary for both direct quotes and paraphrased information that isn't common knowledge.
- ⚠️ Avoid using first-person narration or personal opinions in academic writing, as it weakens the argument and lacks proof.
- 🚫 Do not introduce new information in the conclusion, and avoid ending with phrases like 'That's just my opinion'; instead, reinforce your argument with key points discussed in the paper.
Q & A
What is the correct term for the list of sources in MLA formatting?
-The correct term for the list of sources in MLA formatting is 'Works Cited'. It is not 'References' and it should not be in bold or underlined.
How should the 'Works Cited' page be formatted according to the script?
-The 'Works Cited' page should be in alphabetical order and use a hanging indent. It should start on its own page and not count towards the total page number of the paper.
What is the minimum number of outside sources required if specified by an instructor?
-If an instructor specifies a minimum number of outside sources, the 'Works Cited' page should list at least that number of sources.
How does the script suggest ensuring that the 'Works Cited' page starts on its own page?
-The script suggests using a trick shown in other videos by Professor Morgan to ensure the 'Works Cited' page always starts on its own page.
What is the relationship between in-text citations and the 'Works Cited' page in MLA formatting?
-Every in-text citation must correspond to an entry on the 'Works Cited' page, and vice versa. They are connected and must be consistent.
How should a direct quote be cited within the text in MLA format?
-A direct quote should be introduced with the author's name and followed by the quote in quotation marks. The page number where the quote is found should be included in parentheses after the quote, with the period coming after the closing parenthesis.
What should be done if a source does not have a page number?
-If a source does not have a page number, such as an online source, the page number is omitted from the in-text citation.
How does the script describe the two different ways to do in-text citations in MLA?
-The script describes two ways to do in-text citations: one where the author's name is introduced before the quote, and another where the author's name is given in parentheses after the quote.
What is the significance of the period placement in MLA in-text citations?
-The period in MLA in-text citations should come after the closing parenthesis of the citation, not after the quote itself or before the parenthesis.
What mistake does the script highlight about using first-person in research papers?
-Using first-person and personal experiences weakens the strength of a research paper and is not considered proof. It is advised to avoid first-person narratives in research papers.
How should conclusions be written in MLA formatted papers according to the script?
-Conclusions should summarize the main points made in the paper without introducing new information or reverting to first-person narratives. They should not undermine the points made in the paper.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to MLA Citations
Professor Morgan introduces the video by explaining the purpose of the tutorial, which is to clarify the use of MLA work cited and Intex citations. The video is recorded on November 4th, 2023, and is based on the latest edition of MLA formatting. The professor highlights the importance of correct citation practices, noting that many students struggle with this aspect of research papers. The main points covered include the correct title for the works cited page ('Works Cited' and not 'References'), the formatting style (not bold or underlined), and the requirement for at least four outside sources if specified by the instructor. The professor also mentions that the works cited page starts on its own page and does not count towards the total page number of the paper.
🔍 Correcting MLA Citation Mistakes
In this paragraph, Professor Morgan focuses on common mistakes made with MLA citations and how to correct them. The professor emphasizes that Intex citations must correspond to the works cited page and vice versa. The examples provided illustrate incorrect citations, such as a lack of source attribution for a quote or a study mentioned. The professor explains that any information that is not common knowledge must be cited and that paraphrasing also requires citation. The examples are used to demonstrate how to properly attribute sources in the text and on the works cited page, including the correct placement of periods in relation to parenthetical citations.
📈 Conclusions in Research Papers
The final paragraph addresses how to write effective conclusions for research papers. Professor Morgan warns against using first-person opinions or personal experiences as evidence in research papers, as it weakens the argument. The paragraph provides an example of an improper conclusion that includes personal opinion and contrasts it with a better approach. The improved conclusion summarizes the main points made in the paper without introducing new information or reverting to personal opinion. The professor concludes the video by reiterating the importance of proper MLA formatting and Intex citations for clarity and academic integrity.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Works Cited
💡In-text citation
💡Hanging indent
💡Alphabetical order
💡Page number
💡Parenthetical information
💡Narrative citation
💡Common knowledge
💡Quotation marks
💡First person
Highlights
Introduction to MLA formatting, focusing on common issues students face with in-text citations and works cited pages.
Emphasizes that the 'Works Cited' page is not titled 'References' and should not be bolded or underlined.
The 'Works Cited' page must be organized in alphabetical order and use a hanging indent.
All sources cited in the text must be listed on the 'Works Cited' page, and all entries on the 'Works Cited' page must be cited in the text.
The 'Works Cited' page starts on its own page and does not count toward the overall page count of the paper.
Two types of in-text citations in MLA: narrative citations and parenthetical citations.
When using narrative citations, the author’s name is introduced before the quote, followed by the page number in parentheses.
In parenthetical citations, the author's last name and page number are placed in parentheses after the quote, with the period after the citation.
Online sources without page numbers do not require a page number in in-text citations.
Emphasizes the importance of ensuring that every in-text citation corresponds with an entry on the 'Works Cited' page, and vice versa.
Incorrect citation examples are provided to show common mistakes, such as failing to cite statistics or studies properly.
Encourages students to avoid using personal experiences or first-person language in research papers to strengthen the argument.
Warns against weak conclusions that undermine the argument by adding personal opinion; instead, restate key points and evidence.
Correct formatting of article titles in citations: when no author is present, the article title should be in quotation marks in the citation.
Summary of proper conclusion techniques: avoid introducing new information and instead summarize the main points made throughout the paper.
Transcripts
hello Professor Morgan here showing you
some cool
little tricks and tips when it comes to
using MLA work cited and Intex citations
I am recording this on November 4th 2023
so this is based on the latest edition
of MLA formatting all right so uh I'm
doing this because as I teach courses it
seems like a lot of folks just can't uh
seem to quite get this right so I'm
going to going to give you some
highlights of this kind of important
things all right so if you are assigned
to write a research paper and it needs
to be an MLA formatted first of all note
it's works cited it's not references
it's not this again this is not in bold
it's not in underlined whatever and I
have VI other videos that show you how
to set up a work seted page in different
ways so you can uh look for those on uh
on YouTube as well now a couple things I
want you to note on the works seted page
uh first of all again everything is in
an alphabetical order okay and it uses
the hanging indent again that's all part
of the formatting thing that I'm not
going to go into a lot of detail here
what I want to focus on is the fact that
if your instructor says hey you need to
have at least four outside sources then
your work side of page should have oh
one two three four at least four outside
sources so if you um don't have the
sources listed uh yeah that's a problem
because because often that'll be a part
of the assignment is like how many
outside sources are required for this
paper you need to make sure that all all
of those are listed and they're listed
in proper formatting with an
alphabetical order okay now moving on
remember that the work side of page
starts on its own page the top of its
own page and it does not count towards
the page number of the paper so if you
have to write a five-page paper the work
side of page does not count towards that
page number I did not make MLA don't
shoot the messenger okay I'm just
sharing the information okay so again in
my uh the the videos that I have that
show you how to format a work side the
page um I show you a cool little trick
that make sure that will help you so you
can always make sure that your work page
starts on its own page so we're doing
that okay now when it comes to Intex
citations this is okay listen carefully
listen to the words that are coming out
of my mouth if you're going to site
something inside the text it also needs
to be on the work side of page if you
site some if you put something on the
work side of page it needs to be in the
text now there's two different ways that
we can do Intex citations from MLA okay
first one is kind of where we do it
through a narrative process or through
the pros so in this case um the quote
itself is this part right here so it's
open quotation mark closed quotation
mark here and we've introduced where the
quote is coming from in this case it's
Roger eert okay so Roger Ebert said this
now we are we are putting exactly what
we copied and pasted from Roger Ebert
okay in this quotation marks now note
again if you fallen asleep to my
melodious voice please wake up note the
period is not there it's there and what
is this six this six is what page number
it is found on what happens if it's a
online source and it doesn't have a page
number then you don't have to worry
about having the page number you don't
have to have this okay but if you do
have a something in parenthetical
information at the end of your quote the
period comes after it because the period
is part of hey this all came from this
Source the period ends that concept that
whole con thing the period doesn't go
here and here the period goes doesn't go
here and not there it's period's over
there okay now again so we've we've said
hey I got a quote here from Roger Ebert
so that means that I should be able to
go to the work side of page and find him
there he is okay boom that is the work
sided page that shows the fact that okay
boom there he is okay so I've got the
the the uh person okay the source so I
cited it again let's go back in time
here I've quoted Roger eert and I made
sure that he is there on the work side
of page life is beautiful okay let's
look at another way you can do this okay
in this case we don't introduce who the
quote is coming from in ahead of time we
just start off with a quote so in this
case the quote is directly from um it
starts from here and it goes to here
okay now who said this well we didn't
tell you ahead of time we didn't say who
said this quote so we're going to put it
in parenthetical information at the end
so it just so happens that the person
that this quote came from the last name
of the author is Lawrence and it came
off of page 21 and again if you don't
have a page number then you would just
leave that it would just be Lawrence
close quotation marks but again note the
period is not there it is there okay it
comes after the parenthe IAL information
so again if I go to Lawrence okay I'm
thinking okay and and again the concept
is if I want to know more about what you
know Lawrence has to say then I can go
to the work side of page and find
Lawrence and say oh there he is okay
that's where that came from okay um vice
versa again as a professor if I'm
grading and if I go to a work side of
page and I see let's say you know this
many um sources right but nowhere in the
paper are there any kind of citations
that's wrong they have to go together
okay you if you have an Intex citation
it has to be in the work side of page if
you have something on the work side of
page it has to be an Intex citation okay
that's super important super important
because they're connected that's the
whole purpose of doing that all right
now um so that's really the the the gist
of what I wanted to cover so for the
rest of this video I'm just going to
show you some examples of how you can do
stuff wrong okay this is just for fun
and Giggles because why not okay maybe
kind of test yourself to see if you
understand the concept all right so uh
again here's the work sided page we've
talked about this uh the way it's
formatted okay okay so let's go look at
an Intex citation uh mistake okay so and
this quote right here so so someone puts
this in a in a paper okay another factor
of choosing apples over oranges is the
edible peel whereas the apple skin can
be eaten 99.99 38% of the world's
population more eat an Orange's peel a
recent study showed that people who ate
the peel of an orange are more likely to
commit crimes like robbing a bank and
asking for only quarters speeding in
front of a police station and claiming
14267 dependents on their tax returns
okay so the question here is what needs
to be cited well the general rule of
thumb is you need to site anything
that's not common knowledge okay so if
you were to say the Earth revolves
around the Sun you don't need to site
that because that's common knowledge
okay but where' you get this information
from and where' you get this information
from point is where is your proof you
didn't site this clearly this
information came from somewhere and but
you didn't say where you got it from
okay because you can also um you don't
have to necessarily quote something
directly it can be you can paraphrase
things information from a source but you
still have to say where you got that
information from so for an example of
how to fix this this would be boom
there's your proof we got it right here
okay so this 99% okay came from this
person right here there's my Intex
citation okay and then this information
about a recent study what recent study
well that's wouldn't call stupid
criminals now notice that stupid
criminals is in quotation marks here
because um whereas we have the name of
the author here this article doesn't
have an author so this is like the name
of the article and we could have even
just used one word like stupid um you
know uh so if you have just the name of
the article but again it would be in uh
quotation marks because uh it's the name
of an article and we're going to get to
that in just a second okay and again
notice where the periods are period is
there after the parenthetical and
periods there after the parenthetical
all right let's look at a couple more
all right uh NC stat is much better than
Duke I mean Duke is in Durham in that
city is shanked up NC State students are
better looking and even the air smells
better at NC State rather than Duke I
was at Duke once and it smelled like a
car cow Farm okay um
what okay first of all um if you're
writing a research paper you should not
be using first person right okay uh your
own experiences do not count as proof
and it weakens the strength of your
paper okay I
mean what just be I mean what makes it
durum shanked up okay uh how are you
determining this students are better
looking and what about this air quality
I mean where's your proof yeah that's
that's not good okay and then last but
not least let's talk about conclusions
okay so sometimes um you you know
someone has written an article you know
a research paper where they're arguing a
certain point and they really want to
make sure that you know they just spent
this whole entire paper look saying hey
look I'm trying to convince you of this
point and then they'll often it's weird
it's I'll see something like this this
okay yeah so America rocks and Greenland
is terrible but that's just my opinion
so you may think
differently okay now this is an extreme
example okay um what again we're not
using first person in in research papers
uh and huh so you just spent the whole
paper trying to make your point so don't
throw it away now okay so if you're just
saying okay I just told you this is
super important and I've given you
evidence and I've given you examples and
all that kind of stuff but you can think
what you want well of course people can
think what you want but that's not the
way you should wrap up a paper Okay a
better way to do it would be you know in
conclusion America is a better place to
live than Greenland based on higher
quality of Health Care average
temperatures during the year and job
opportunities people who value these
aspects as important will find America
better choice for them you're basically
saying the same thing now notice this is
a conclusion so you're saying we're just
concluding the main points that we made
during the paper so there's no
parenthetical I mean there's no inex in
text intext citations here um because
we're not adding new information in the
conclusion we're wrapping up the main
points so anyway there's a little video
there on MLA formatting and Intex
citations and I hope this has helped add
some clarity to what you need to do all
right thanks
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