Citation is an important and required part of academic work, and citation adds credibility to your writing by demonstrating your understanding of the foundation for your argument. It is essential to acknowledge ideas, words and information from others.
There are three main ways to integrate sources into scholarly work:
More information and examples are provided on this page. To learn more, visit the Quick How To about Integrating Sources into Your Research Paper and refer to chapter 4 in the MLA Handbook to discover more about the importance of documenting sources.
Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own.
It is important that you acknowledge when you use other people's ideas. That is one reason citation is important and required.
For more information, visit the Quick How to about Understanding Plagiarism and review the University of Nevada, Reno’s policy about plagiarism in the Academic Standards section of the Administrative Manual.
When you directly quote from a source, enclose the quoted section in quotation marks. Add the in-text citation (Author Last Name page number) after the quote. Here is an example:
Mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (Hunt 358).
When you quote from sources that do not provide page numbers, only include the author's last name. Here is an example:
"Three phases of the separation response: protest, despair, and detachment" (Garelli).
If a quotation extends to more than four lines, it is a long quotation. There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations:
Here is an example. At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behavior:
The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding 186)
When you use your own words to share information or ideas from a source, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion.
Paraphrasing from One Page
Include a full in-text citation with the author name and page number (if there is one). For example:
Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 65).
Paraphrasing from Multiple Pages
If the paraphrased information is from several pages, include all of the page numbers. For example:
Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 50, 55, 65-71).
Readers should be able to move from your own words to the words you quote without feeling an abrupt shift. Signal phrases provide clear signals to prepare the readers for the quotation. If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the page number (if there is one) at the end of the quotation or paraphrased section. For example:
Hunt explains that mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (358).
