Managing Borrowed Material

In-text Citations and

Blending Quotes

Avoiding Plagiarism

In addition to your Sources Cited

In-text Citations, a.k.a. Parenthetical Citations, a.k.a. Citations

Most basic format: (Last page #)

Should act as a link back to your Sources Cited— “bread crumbs”

When to use Citations

Quotations (Verbatim)

Paraphrases

Uncommon Facts/Details

Statistics

*When in doubt, cite your source!

CITATIONS Identifies the source and page number

(if available), usually at the close of a sentence before the end punctuation:

(Smith 376).

*Note that there is NO COMMA between the author and page number!

CITATIONS

What about resources I get from general websites? What do I use for a page number?

In this case, the latest version of MLA Style says that you do not need to include a page number.

So, your citation might simply look like this: (Smith) or (“Name of Web Resource if No Author”.

Blending Quotations

Using a lead-in (an introductory expression)

EXAMPLES:a. According to Dr. William

McKenzie…b. A recent study conducted by the University of Wisconsin

explains…c. Michael Smith believes…

Blending Quotations Strategies for Blending Quotations:

#1: Lead-in, “Quote” (Last #).

**This is probably the format you will use most often. It is the most basic format.

**Notice two things:1. The citation is OUTSIDE the quotations marks!2. The end punctuation FOLLOWS THE CITATION!

Blending Quotations

Strategies for Blending Quotations:

#2: Lead-in w/ author’s name mentioned, “Quote” (#).

**See the example on Slide #10

Blending Quotations Strategies for Blending Quotations:

#3: Lead-in w/ author being discussed in entire section, “Quote” (#).EXAMPLE: (In an essay analyzing Willa Cather’s O Pioneers!, using quotes form Cather’s work throughout the entire section or essay)

Frank Shabata never planned to shoot his wife and Emil. Proof of this fact is found when the author writes, “When Frank took up his gun . . . he had not the faintest purpose of doing anything with it” (261).

Blending Quotations

Strategies for Blending Quotations:

#4: Lead-in,“Quote” (“Word”).

**In this case, no author’s name is available, so use a recognizable word from the title of your source—be sure to italicize it, put quotes around it, etc. depending on the type of source (as it appears on your Sources Cited page)!

Blending Quotations

Strategies for Blending Quotations:

#5: Lead-in, “Quote” (Last).

**In this case, no page number is available (such as a website, for example) which would be evident from a glance at your Sources Cited page.

To Comma or Not to Comma…

Lead-ins that use verbs like says and writes are usually followed by a comma

EXAMPLE:Cather suggests that Emil and

Marie’s story is symbolically described in nature when she writes, “But the stained, slippery grass told only half the story” (270).

To Comma or Not to Comma…

When the word “that ” is used in a lead-in before the quote, a comma is usually unnecessary

EXAMPLE:Cather suggests that Emil and

Marie’s story is symbolically described in nature, telling the read that “the stained, slippery grass told only half the story” (270).

To Comma or Not to Comma…

Use a colon (:) if the lead-in is an independent clause (i.e. it could stand alone as a sentence by itself) and you are using words like the following, as follows, etc.

EXAMPLE:Cather suggests that Emil and Marie’s

story is symbolically described in nature in the following passage: “But the stained, slippery grass told only half the story” (270).

To Comma or Not to Comma…

If you are blending a brief quotation that fits into your sentence smoothly as the subject, object, or modifier in the sentence, a comma is often unnecessary

EXAMPLE:Cather suggests that Emil and

Marie’s story is symbolically described by “the stained, slippery grass” (270).

Helpful Verbs

Do not overuse say/said and write/wrote. There are other verbs you can use in your lead-in!

Avoid searching for unusual or overly-impressive verbs like expostulated or asseverated.

MLA prefers that you keep these verbs in the PRESENT TENSE: use “says” vs. “said,” for example.

ELLIPSIS

What is an ellipsis? – Three spaced periods--> . . .

When do we use an ellipsis?– When you have deleted words within a

verbatim quote you are borrowing from your source material

ELLIPSIS

MLA style states that the ellipsis should be enclosed in brackets [. . .]– WHY? It shows that you, the writer, have

taken something out, rather than the person you are quoting.

– You do not need to do this for my class.

Short phrases or clauses from your source material can be quoted without an ellipsis UNLESS the phrase could stand alone as a sentence without the ellipsis.

ELLIPSIS

EXAMPLE:Original source says: Cold Mountain has wonderful acting, including a bravura performance by Nicole Kidman, a fine script, good editing, and marvelous filmography by Anthny Minghella.

Blended quote with ellipsis: Roger Ebert praised the film, saying, “Cold Mountain has wonderful acting, . . . a fine script, good editing, and marvelous filmography . . .” (12).

BLOCK QUOTATIONS

Also known as “long quotes”

For direct quotes only!

Use only for a quote of 4-7 lines of typed text

Should not be used in shorter essays (use only in papers of 5 pages or more in length)

BLOCK QUOTATIONS

Introduce the quote, then skip down to the next line, TAB 2x, and DO NOT INDENT FURTHER

No quotation marks are used here (unless they appear in the original)

Include the citation at the close of the quote (period comes BEFORE the citation this time)

BLOCK QUOTATIONS

EXAMPLE: W.E.B. DuBois, a great African American

scholar and writer, describes the phenomenon of segregation as follows:

It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. (2)

Notice: Even though the block quote is only one sentence, it takes up 6 lines of typed text. You could have multiple sentences in your block quote, but do not exceed 7 lines of text!

PUNCTUATION

DOUBLE QUOTES (“ ”)– For verbatim quotes taken from source

SINGLE QUOTES (‘ ’)– For quotes within quotes--if it is quoted using

double quotes in your source, and you want to use it in your paper, it would appear:

“ ‘QUOTE’ ”

PERIOD ( . )– When the quote is followed by a parenthetical

citation, the period FOLLOWS the citation

PUNCTUATION

BRACKETS [ ] – Square brackets are used within a quote for

purposes of identification, clarification, or to signify information you have added

SLASH ( / )– Avoid using the “and/or” construction in your

writing– Use the slash to separate two closely related

words or lines of poetry written consecutively