Research
A significant portion of our class is devoted to research, primarily in the MLA format.
Helpful Links
Easy Bib
Spotswood Library
MLA Handbook Website (has account restrictions)
JMU Libraries
Works Cited Rules and Examples
August 2017
Having trouble with easybib? Turn OFF the ad blocker. In the upper right corner of your page, look for a red shield. Click the power off button and that should do the trick. The same thing applies to CitationMachine if you prefer to use that instead.
Remember you need to have a publisher and a copyright date to use a website. Look at the very bottom of the page for this information, which follows the Ⓒ. If you can’t find what you need, go back to the main homepage of the website and look there. Ask Mrs. Bean for help if you need it.
The new format for websites is:
Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of the Article or Individual Page.” Title of the website, Name of the publisher, Date of publication, URL.
You need to have at least one citation per paragraph, excluding only the introduction and the conclusion. Having one citation at the end of a paragraph means everything in that paragraph came from one source, which is fine. Having one citation at the start of your paragraph and then no other citations is likely a problem. Give a source for all of your info.
So what do you use for internal citations? First, you have to have your Works Cited page done. What you use for internal documentation depends on what you have in your Works Cited page. Basically, you use whatever is first for the source as it is listed on the Works Cited page.
For example:
If this is your source as listed in your Works Cited page:
“Will Ferrell.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 12 July 2017, www.biography.com/people/will-ferrell-9542601.
then in your paper you’ll use “Will Ferrell”
Sample sentence (“Will Ferrell”).
If this is your source as listed in your Works Cited page:
Fey, Tina. “Will Ferrell.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 12 July 2017, www.biography.com/people/will-ferrell-9542601.
In your paper you will use Fey
Sample sentence (Fey).
You only need to use the first and last name if you have more than one source by the name of “Fey.”
Sometimes you have multiple article titles with the same name. You need to distinguish between sources in your paper.
For example:
“Will Ferrell.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 12 July 2017, www.biography.com/people/will-ferrell-9542601.
“Will Ferrell.” MadeUpWebsite, A&E Networks Television, 12 July 2017, www.biography.com/people/will-ferrell-9542601.
You can’t just put (“Will Ferrell”) because no one will know which source you are referencing.
Sample sentence (“Will Ferrell” Biography.com).
Sample sentence the second (“Will Ferrell” MadeUpWebsite).
Ask for help if you get confused!
Easy Bib
Spotswood Library
MLA Handbook Website (has account restrictions)
JMU Libraries
Works Cited Rules and Examples
August 2017
Having trouble with easybib? Turn OFF the ad blocker. In the upper right corner of your page, look for a red shield. Click the power off button and that should do the trick. The same thing applies to CitationMachine if you prefer to use that instead.
Remember you need to have a publisher and a copyright date to use a website. Look at the very bottom of the page for this information, which follows the Ⓒ. If you can’t find what you need, go back to the main homepage of the website and look there. Ask Mrs. Bean for help if you need it.
The new format for websites is:
Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of the Article or Individual Page.” Title of the website, Name of the publisher, Date of publication, URL.
You need to have at least one citation per paragraph, excluding only the introduction and the conclusion. Having one citation at the end of a paragraph means everything in that paragraph came from one source, which is fine. Having one citation at the start of your paragraph and then no other citations is likely a problem. Give a source for all of your info.
So what do you use for internal citations? First, you have to have your Works Cited page done. What you use for internal documentation depends on what you have in your Works Cited page. Basically, you use whatever is first for the source as it is listed on the Works Cited page.
For example:
If this is your source as listed in your Works Cited page:
“Will Ferrell.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 12 July 2017, www.biography.com/people/will-ferrell-9542601.
then in your paper you’ll use “Will Ferrell”
Sample sentence (“Will Ferrell”).
If this is your source as listed in your Works Cited page:
Fey, Tina. “Will Ferrell.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 12 July 2017, www.biography.com/people/will-ferrell-9542601.
In your paper you will use Fey
Sample sentence (Fey).
You only need to use the first and last name if you have more than one source by the name of “Fey.”
Sometimes you have multiple article titles with the same name. You need to distinguish between sources in your paper.
For example:
“Will Ferrell.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 12 July 2017, www.biography.com/people/will-ferrell-9542601.
“Will Ferrell.” MadeUpWebsite, A&E Networks Television, 12 July 2017, www.biography.com/people/will-ferrell-9542601.
You can’t just put (“Will Ferrell”) because no one will know which source you are referencing.
Sample sentence (“Will Ferrell” Biography.com).
Sample sentence the second (“Will Ferrell” MadeUpWebsite).
Ask for help if you get confused!