On-line Research Writing:  English 102 
Professor Gary Parks (gparks@shoreline.edu)
Shoreline Community College 
Shoreline, WA, USA 

MLA Documentation--An Overview

The current MLA documentation system is the required style for your major research paper. It is covered in Writing Research Papers (WRP). The earlier you understand this system, the less time you will spend later looking for required information.

Since current MLA style is clearly described in our text, no in-depth instruction of the system will be given here. However, a broad overview and points of emphasis may help get you started. Here are some basic principles of this system:

• In general, any ideas and information taken from sources--i.e. anything that you did not know before starting the research project-- must be documented. Even if one isolated statistic is used from a source, it must be documented. The only exception to this is general common knowledge such as the number of Supreme Court Justices, the fact that China is the most populated country in the world, or the fact that penicillin is an important antibiotic. Otherwise, the information must be documented. If your paper is focused on a particular audience, such as workers in a particular field, it may not be necessary to document knowledge that is commonly shared in that field. In this class, however, you should always document when in doubt.
  
  
• There is a two-part system used to communicate the origin of source material in MLA documentation style. The first part of this system, parenthetical in-text citations, involves signals inserted in the text of the paper that usually look like this: (Jones 17). In this case, "Jones" is the author's last name, and 17 is the page number the information came from. Use the author's last name for the citation if you have it, no matter whether the source is print (paper-based) or online.
  
  If information from a range of pages is used, the citation would look like this: (Jones 100-112). This kind of citation might occur when you are summarizing large parts of a research source.
  
  Notice that there is no first name, comma, no "p" for "page," etc. in the above citation form. It is a clean and simple form consisting of last name and the page number(s).
  
  If (and only if) no author is listed, which is common in web sites and newspaper articles, use the title or a shortened version of the title to substitute for the author's last name. For example, an anonymously authored article called "Star Wars is the Answer" that appears on page 2 of section C of a newspaper would be cited: ("Star Wars" C2). For non-paginated sources, such as web pages, no page number would appear: ("Star Wars"). The quotation marks are used because they are the proper punctuation for an article's title. All of this is explained in WRP Ch 18 and demonstrated in the first two sample essays in WRP.
  
  The parenthetical in-text citations described above will lead your readers to the second part of the MLA documentation system, an alphabetical listing of sources called the Works Cited which appears at the end of the paper. Only sources cited in the paper should be included in the Works Cited. In other words, do not pad the Works Cited with sources not cited in the paper. Sources cited multiple times are listed only once in the Works Cited. The Works Cited provides full information for the reader on how to find the source. See WRP Ch 18 for the specifics on how to structure the Works Cited. Also study the use of it in the sample papers (the first two, on immigration and Emily Dickinson, are MLA style). Make sure to contact the instructor immediately with any questions.

  Note: Until about ten years ago, MLA documentation involved a system of planting numbers in the text that corresponded to endnotes or footnotes at the end of paper or bottom of the page. This system is no longer used for MLA documentation, but it is similar to the current MLA style for Informational Notes. Informational notes are ways to give additional content that doesn't fit well in the flow of the paper. They are not for documentation purposes and should not be confused with correct documentation. Informational notes are not recommended for this quarter. Wait until graduate school. See "Numbered Notes for Special Purposes" on p. 203 in WRP for more detail.
  
  

• Material from sources must be documented even if it is changed into your own words. In other words, material that must be documented includes paraphrased material (information changed into your own words) as well as directly quoted material. This is a crucial point to understand since in a good research paper most source information (usually 80% or more) should be paraphrased. Frequent use of paraphrase helps keep the material blended well with other sources and in your own writing voice.
  
  
• Quoted material must be cited and given quotation marks to be documented correctly. Lack of quotation marks for direct quotes constitutes plagiarism even if the source is cited. This is considered plagiarism because the student author has borrowed language without indicating it. Also, it is not O.K. to alter language slightly, using syntax and phrasing almost identical to quotes but with a few parts changed, and try to pass off as a paraphrase. This is called improper or poor paraphrasing and is covered in WRP (146-147). Improper or poor paraphrasing is also considered plagiarism.
  

Please don't assume that you understand this system without looking in detail at the formats. Also, don't use the above overview to structure documentation for your research paper, since it is covered in greater detail in WRP. Please realize that in previous or other classes you may not be required to use current MLA documentation style. Other classes may use APA style (which empasizes the date of publication in the citation), or even the outdated MLA endnote/footnote system. This class uses current MLA style and variant styles will not be accepted (see finished paper policy in syllabus).

Prior knowledge of this system will help you keep track of the information you need during the note-taking / Working Bibliography phase of your project. Good notes from sources should show the page number(s) the information came from, the source, and whether the information noted is a quote or paraphrase. Working Bibliographies should include all information later needed in the finished Works Cited. All of this will be covered in the appropriate chapters in WRP.

If you have any doubts or questions about this documentation system, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor immediately. Otherwise full understanding of the principles outlined above is assumed.

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