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DOCUMENTING SOURCES | INTRODUCTION

Introduction When writing an academic research paper, the facts, quotations, ideas, opinions, lines of argument, etc. that you use from the work of someone else must be acknowledged for their contribution to your work. There are many acceptable ways for doing so; at the Ross School, the MLA style is the standard for documenting sources. The information included here is an overview with examples of common situations. The complete MLA guidelines are available in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers and additional information, especially for documenting online sources, is online at the Modern Language Association’s section on MLA Style. In the MLA style, acknowledgement of a source consists of an in-text citation within the body of the paper that refers to an entry on a Works Cited list. Generally, the in-text citation includes the author’s name and the page number and the Works Cited entry includes the author, title, and publication information. In-text Citation The paradoxical failure of Americans to elect pro-environment Presidents during the 1980’s, despite poll results showing that a majority of Americans valued environmental quality over economic growth, is that solutions to complex issues like sustainability require an approach at odds with our incremental political process (Orr 69). Works Cited Entry Orr, David W. Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992. Print. Compiled and adapted for the Ross School. Comprehensive information on MLA style can be found in: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2009.

INTRODUCTION CITATIONS FORMAT AND CONTENT WORKS CITED ENTRIES LIST OF WORKS CITED ANNOTATIONS ANNOTATED WORKS CITED

Updated 03 February 2010