Chapter 19, Essay Essentials

NETA PowerPoint® Slides
to accompany
Copyright © 2015 by Nelson Education Ltd.
prepared by
Rhonda Dynes
Mohawk
College
19-1

Documenting
Your Sources
Chapter 19
19-2

When you document a source, you provide information that
1. tells your readers that the ideas they are reading have
been borrowed from another writer;
2. enables your readers to find the source and read the
material for themselves.
Documentation is the process of acknowledging
source material, something you have read or
seen that was created by other people or that
you have recreated for another purpose.
19-3
Documentation

Documentation cont’d
There are many different systems, but two of the most widely
used are that of the Modern Language Association (MLA)—
often used in English/Humanities, and that of the American
Psychological Association (APA)—often used in social sciences.
The source documents are:
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed.
New York: MLA, 2009. www.mla.org/style.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
6th ed. Washington: APA, 2009. www.apastyle.org.
19-4

The Two-Part Principle of
Documentation
Documentation styles vary in their
details, but most styles require
authors to
● identify in a parenthetical
reference in the text any
information taken from a source
● list all sources for the paper
on
a separate page at the end
19-5

Tips for Writing a Research Paper
19-6
A parenthetical citation tells the reader that the
information preceding the parentheses is borrowed
from a source and provides a key to the full
identification of that source. Footnotes are now
rarely used to document source material; instead,
they are used to give additional information that
cannot be conveniently worked into the body of
your paragraph. A Works Cited (MLA) or References
list (APA) is a list of all the sources from which you
have borrowed words, ideas, data, or other
material in your paper.

MLA Style
Parenthetical References
Standard practice in MLA is to provide
the surname of the author of the source
material and the page number where the
material was taken from. If you’ve already
mentioned the author’s name in your
paragraph, you need to give only the
page number in parentheses following
subsequent references to the author’s
work. Don’t repeat unnecessarily.
19-7

MLA Style
Parenthetical References:
Traditional Sources
1. If you name the source author in your
paragraph, give just the page number
in parentheses.
2. If you do not name the source author
in your paragraph, give the author’s
surname and the page number.
3. If no author is named in the source,
give the first few words of the title as it
appears in the Works Cited entry.
19-8

MLA Style
Traditional Sources cont’d
4. If your source was published in more
than one volume, give the volume number
before the page reference.
5. If you are quoting from a literary classic
or the Bible, use Arabic numerals separated
by periods to identify act, scene, and lines
from a play or a biblical chapter and verse.
19-9

MLA Style
Parenthetical References: Some Examples
1. If you name the source author in your paragraph, give
just the page number in parentheses.
Isajiw asserts that the twentieth century “has produced more
refugees and exiles than any other preceding period since the fall
of the Roman Empire” (66).
2. If you do not name the source author in your
paragraph, give the author’s surname and the page
number.
The effect of “status drop” on the psychological well-being of
immigrants can be substantial: “Especially among those more
highly educated, this experience can cause feelings of bitterness
or hostility….” (Isajiw 97).
19-10

MLA Style
Electronic Sources
1. If the electronic source lists an author,
give the surname in your parenthetical
reference.
2. If the electronic source does not list an
author, give the document title (or a
shortened version of the title) in italics
or quotation marks as appropriate,
instead of the author’s name.
19-11

MLA Style
Electronic Sources cont’d
3. You do not usually find page numbers or
other navigation devices in an electronic
source. If there are page, paragraph, or
section numbers that could guide your reader
to the specific material being quoted, include
them. If the author’s name is included in the
parenthetical reference, put a comma after it
and include the section or paragraph
numbers. Use the abbreviations sec. and par.
19-12

MLA Style
Parenthetical References: Some Electronic Examples
3. You do not usually find page numbers in an electronic source.
Even Margaret Atwood must endure the editing process before her books are
published:
Being edited is like falling face down into a threshing machine. Every page gets
fought over, back and forth, like WWI. Unless the editor and the writer both
have in mind the greater glory of the work, … blood will flow and the work will
suffer. Every comma, every page break, may be a ground for slaughter. (sec. 6)
Taken from Margaret Atwood. “The Rocky Road to Paper Heaven.” http://www.myscribeweb.com/TheRockyRoadToPaperHeaven.html
19-13

MLA Style
Works Cited
1. Italicize titles and subtitles of any work
that is published as a whole.
2. Put quotation marks around the titles of
works published within larger works, as well
as around the titles of unpublished works.
3. Use capital letters for the first, the last,
and all main words in a title and subtitle,
even if your source capitalizes only the first
word in the title.
19-14

MLA Style
Works Cited cont’d
● Begin the list on a new page, and number
each page, continuing the page numbers of
your paper. Your last name and the page
number appear in the upper right-hand
corner, 1.25 cm from the top and lined up
with the right margin.
● Centre the heading, “Works Cited,”
2.50 cm from the top of the page.
● Double-space the entire list, including
the title and the first entry.
19-15

MLA Style
● Begin each entry at the left margin. If an
entry runs more than one line (and most
do), indent the subsequent line or lines one
tab space, or 1.25 cm. This format
is called a “hanging indent.”
● Arrange the entries alphabetically,
beginning with the first word of the entry,
which is often the author’s surname. Do not
number your entries.
19-16

MLA Style
● If there are several works by the same
author, put the author’s name in the
first entry only. In the subsequent
entries, type three hyphens and a
period to represent the author’s name.
● If no author is identified in your source,
alphabetize by the first word in the title,
ignoring “A,” “An,” and “The.” For example,
The Canadian Encyclopedia would be listed
under “C,” for “Canadian.”
19-17

MLA Style
19-18

MLA Works Cited: Basic Format Rules
Books, Encyclopedias, Reports, Government Publications
Last name of author, First name and/or initials. Title of Book:
Subtitle of Book. City of publication: Publisher, Year of
publication. Medium of publication.
Example: Book with more than one author
McCall, Bruce, and David Letterman. This Land Was Made for
You and Me (But Mostly Me): Billionaires in the Wild. Toronto:
Random House, 2013. Print.
19-19

MLA Works Cited: Basic Format Rules
Articles in Magazines, Newspapers, and Journals
Last name of author, First name and/or initials. “Title of
Article.” Title of Periodical Date: pages. Medium of
publication.
Example: Magazine
Bidini, David. “Iqaluit in the Groove.” Canadian Geographic
July/Aug. 2009: 57–64. Print.
Example: Scholarly Journal (note that the volume number is given)
Chen, Gary K., Paul Marjoram, and Jeffery D. Wall. “Fast and
Flexible Simulation of DNA Sequence Data.” Genome
Research 19 (2008): 136–42. Print.
19-20

MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources
Here are the elements to look for:
● full name of author
● title of the document (in italics if independent; in
quotation marks if it is part of a larger website)
● title of the overall website in italics
● version or edition statement, if available
● publisher or sponsor of the site (if unavailable use “n.p.”)
● library database, if applicable
● date of the publication (if unavailable use “n.d.”)
● medium of publication (“Web”)
● day, month, year on which you found and read the source
● the URL, if required, or if helpful to the reader
19-21

MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources
Example: Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary
“Canadian Literature.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009. Web. 5 May 2009.
Example: Web Document
“Michael Ondaatje.” The Canadian Literature Archive. 20
Mar. 2006. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. <http://umanitoba.ca/
outreach/ canlit/michael_ondaatje.shtml>.
Example: Newspaper Article from a Public Internet Site
Brooymans, Hanneke. “Duck Death Toll Triples at Alberta
Oilsands Pond.” edmontonjournal.com. Edmonton
Journal, 31 Mar. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2014.
19-22

APA Style
Parenthetical References
Remember that a parenthetical
reference in the text of your paper
serves two functions: (1) it tells your
reader that the information comes
from somewhere else, and (2) it points
the reader to full details about the
source in the References list at the
end of your paper.
19-23

APA Style
Parenthetical References cont’d
One way to acknowledge the author’s work is
to name the author in your sentence and
include the date of publication in parentheses
immediately after the author’s name: e.g.,
“Smith (2009) reported….” If you do not name
the author in your sentence, put the author’s
surname followed by a comma and then the
date in parentheses—(Smith, 2009)—right after
your quotation, summary, or paraphrase.
19-24

APA Style
Parenthetical References cont’d
If you are quoting from a source, you must
include in your parenthetical reference the
page number(s) on which the quotation
appears, using the abbreviation p. (page) or
pp. (pages)—(e.g., Smith & Dolittle, 2010,
p. 32). APA style encourages but does not
require page references in citations for
paraphrases or summaries. Electronic sources
will work a bit differently.
19-25

APA Style
Traditional Sources
1. Author’s Name Given in Your Text
Kevin Patterson (2000) wrote about his sailing
journey from British Columbia to the South Pacific
and back: “Suffused with optimism and rum, I told
Peter I wanted to sail to Tahiti” (p. 6).
19-26

APA Style
2. Author’s Name Not Given in Your Text
Long voyages by sea, especially in small boats,
present obvious dangers depending on the ocean
and the season of crossing: “The North Pacific is
cold and volatile in the autumn and anyone who
knew enough about the sea to consider sailing to
Canada knew that much” (Patterson, 2000, p. 249).
19-27

APA Style
3. No Author Named in Source
Give the first two or three words of the title of the
publication or article in which the quotation appeared.
Legislation to reduce the amount of pollution
generated by large-scale vehicles has been on the
federal agenda for some time: “Canada has said
it will toughen pollution-emission rules for all new
vehicles, ending a loophole that allowed less
stringent standards for popular sport-utility
vehicles and minivans” (“Canada to Toughen,”
2002, p. A6).
19-28

APA Style
4. Source with Two Authors
Name both authors in the order in which their names
appear on the work.
Norton and Green (2005) observe that
inexperienced writers achieved superior results
when they spent half the allotted time on
planning “and” drafting, and the other half on
revising.
If you do not name the authors in your own sentence, use
an ampersand (&) in the parenthetical reference.
19-29

APA Style
Electronic Sources
If the electronic source includes the author’s
name, give the surname and the publication
date (if provided) in your parenthetical
reference. If no date is provided and your
References list includes another author with the
same surname, include the author’s initial(s) in
your in-text reference. This is all the information
your reader needs in order to find the full
bibliographical data in your References list.
19-30

APA Style
Electronic Sources cont’d
If the electronic source does not list an author,
use the document title (or a shortened version of
the title) instead of the author’s name. Electronic
sources don’t usually include page numbers or
other navigation devices, but if there are page,
paragraph, or section numbers that could guide
your reader to the specific material being quoted,
include them. Use the abbreviation par. or pars.
for paragraph numbers.
19-31

APA Style
References List
The References list at the end of your
essay must include detailed
documentation of all the sources you have
summarized, paraphrased, quoted, or
referred to in any way in your paper. This
information enables your reader to assess
the extent of your research and to find
every source you used.
19-32

APA Style
References List cont’d
● Begin the References list on a new page.
● Centre the word “References” on the
page, two spaces below your running head
(the title of your paper in all upper-case
letters, abbreviated if necessary).
● Leave a double space between the title
“References” and the first entry, and
double-space all of the entries.
19-33

APA Style
● Begin each entry at the left margin. If the
entry runs more than a single line—and
most do—indent the second and
subsequent lines 1.25 cm (this is called
a “hanging indent”).
● Arrange the entries alphabetically,
beginning with the first word of the entry,
which is often the author’s surname. Do
not number your entries.
19-34

APA Style
● If there are several works by the same
author, arrange by year of publication,
earliest first.
● If no author is identified in your source,
alphabetize by the first word in the title,
ignoring “A,” “An,” and “The.” For example,
The Canadian Encyclopedia would be listed
under “C,” for “Canadian” (but would still
retain
“The” in the title).
19-35

APA References: Basic Format Rules
Books, Encyclopedias, Reports, Government Publications
Last name of author or editor, Initials. (Year of publication).
Title of book: Subtitle of book. Place of publication: Publisher.
Example: Book with more than one author
McCall, B., & Letterman, D. (2013). This land was made for you
and me (but mostly me): Billionaires in the wild. Toronto,
Canada: Random House.
19-36

● each author’s last name and initials
● date of publication in parentheses and in year–month–day:
(2009, September 30) or (2010, January–February)
● title with no quotes and an initial capital letter only; a capital
letter is also required after the colon introducing a subtitle
● name as it appears on the front page, in italics, with capital
letters for all major words: The Globe and Mail
● volume number and issue number (if any); these often appear
in journal entries and are expressed as, for example:
13(6), which means Volume 13, Issue 6
● inclusive page numbers of the article
19-37

Last name of author, First name and/or initials. “Title of
Article.” Title of Periodical Date: pages. Medium of
publication.
Example: Article in a Monthly/Seasonal Magazine
Onstad, K. (2013, October). Portrait of a ten-year old girl. The
Walrus, 18–25.
Example: Scholarly Journal
Baier, M., & Buechsel, R. (2012). A model to help bereaved
individuals understand the grief process. Mental Health
Practice, 16(1), 28–32.
19-38

References: Electronic Formats
Here are a few guidelines:
● Do not use a hyphen to divide a URL over two lines; if you
do, you will make the URL invalid.
● URL and DOI address strings can be long and prone to
mistakes if retyped. Copy and paste for best results.
● Download and print online material so that you can verify
it if, at a later date, it is revised, unavailable, or inaccessible.
The rules for APA electronic sources are essentially the same as for print
and broadcast sources. The reference should provide enough to enable
a reader to locate the source quickly—author, date, title, publisher
or sponsor of the site, and the URL or a DOI (digital object identifier).
Retrieval dates are not necessary.
19-39

References: Electronic Format
Example: Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary
Capricious. (2009). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary.
Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/ dictionary
Example: Newspaper Article from a Public Internet Site
Brooymans, H. (2009, March 31). Duck death toll triples at
Alberta oilsands pond. Edmonton Journal. Retrieved from
http://www.edmontonjournal.com
Example: Audio Podcast
Rule, B. (2009, April 5). Barbara Ferguson on Vampires, Art
Waves #25 [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from
https://archive.org/details/BarbaraFergusonOnVampiresArtWaves25
19-40

Chapter 19, Essay Essentials

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Chapter 19, Essay Essentials

More from derekbjenkins

Recently uploaded

Chapter 19, Essay Essentials

Editor's Notes