The Third and Final Continent Compare&Contrast

ENGLISH 1302 Summer 2022 – MLA Guidelines for Using Direct Quotes, In Text Citations, Works Cited Entries, Signal Phrases

Several of your assignments are geared towards using direct quotes as support in body paragraphs. I am including several samples below to show you how to properly document your work, use signal phrases, and remind you of other rules associated with using direct quotes.

· Types of Quotes: There are two types of quotes – standard (regular) and block. A standard quote is less than four full lines. A block quote is four full lines or more. A line is different than a sentence – a line is considered to be the length from the left hand margin to the right hand margin. The format you use for a standard quote and a block quote is totally different. Since most of you will be using only standard quotes, I am including examples below of standard quotes. Refer to the Owl at Purdue website (or a recent handbook you may have purchased for English 1301 and/or 1302) if you wish to review the documentation of block quotes.

· 2:1 Ratio – When you use a direct quote from your textbook/reading (or any outside source), you are required to fully introduce and then fully explain each quote using the 2:1 ratio. The 2:1 ratio is – “For every line of quotation, you must include at least two full sentences of explanation in your own words to explain what the quote means.” With this in mind, you need to focus on choosing quotes that indicate exactly what you want to convey to your reader. This chosen quote should also be connected to the specific topic you present in your topic sentence. This rule also means that the longer the quote is, the longer your explanation must be. Limiting yourself to a “standard” quote of less than four full lines is a good idea to keep your explanation within a reasonable limit and to keep your paper from being too long. Do not make the mistake of inserting a block quote without a full introduction and full explanation of it. All quotes, regardless of length must be fully introduced and fully explained.

· Signal Phrases: You are required to use a signal phrase for all quoted material. This lets your reader know you are using an outside source and leads into your direct quote more smoothly. See below for several examples of a signal phrase. If you use the author’s name in the signal phrase, you do not have to use the author’s name in the parenthetical reference. If you do not use the author’s name in the signal phrase, you must include it in the parenthetical reference. The handbook you may have purchased for English 1301 and/or 1302 offers good information about signal phrases and terms you can utilize to make your paper stronger – see pages 622-624 in The Little, Brown Handbook for excellent information on signal phrases and incorporating quotes in your papers. The list of “Verbs for Signal Phrases” at the top of page 623 will allow you to choose from a variety of verbs and keep your paper from begin too repetitive. In addition, you can read more about this topic in the MyWritingLab class multimedia materials section. You may also refer to the Owl at Purdue website for more information: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/

· Use present tense: You need to use present tense when writing about literature – this is the standard form used in MLA style. Therefore, your verb in your signal phrase will be in present tense (even if the author is no longer alive). Every time you open a text, it is a living entity so this is the reasoning behind using present tense. Review page 624 for examples of using present tense to integrate sources. See below for examples of how to use verbs in present tense when you create your signal phrases. You should also use present tense throughout your literary analysis as well. In addition, you can read more about this topic in the MyWritingLab class multimedia materials section. You may also refer to the Owl at Purdue website for more information: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/

· Ellipses: There are two types of ellipses (. . . and . . . .). Ellipses are used to indicate that you have left out information in your direct quote. If you leave out less than a full sentence, you use three ellipses (. . .). If you leave out a full sentence, then you use four ellipses (. . . .). You are also required to have space in between each ellipses. When you are typing in Word, you need to manually hit the space bar to keep your ellipses from pulling together automatically. Please pay attention to this rule since you will receive one point off for improper spacing of ellipses. See below for samples of how to use ellipses in quotes.

SAMPLE DIRECT QUOTES OF ‘PRINT’ SOURCES WITH SIGNAL PHRASES:

[please note – the PDF files posted in Canvas will also have ‘print’ page numbers you will use in your parenthetical references after the quotes]

This concept is clear when Alexie writes, “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I

was lucky” (63).

This concept is clear when the author writes, “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky” (Alexie 63).

*The above two samples show the two options you have as you incorporate the author’s name – if you use the author’s name in the signal phrase, you do not include it in the parenthetical reference; if you do not use the author’s name in the signal phrase, you need to include it in the parenthetical reference.

As Alexie asserts, “I refused to fail . . . . I was arrogant. I was lucky” (63).

*The above quote shows an entire sentence has been left out so four ellipses are used in this case.

As Alexie asserts, “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was . . .” (63).

*The above quote shows part of a sentence has been left out so three ellipses are used in this case.

Notice that the punctuation (the period) appears at the end of the sentence and does not fall inside of the quotation marks – be sure to check all of your quotes for this important MLA style rule. The period at the end of the sentence stands for both the period in the quote and the end of the entire sentence. The only exceptions to this rule are exclamation points and question marks. See the examples below for the two exceptions.

WRONG: Baker illustrates her point when she writes, “The stove was hot” (79)!

CORRECT: Baker illustrates her point when she writes, “The stove was hot!” (79).

WRONG: Anderson puts forth the question in the following way, “How could we not embrace multiculturalism” (42)?

CORRECT: Anderson puts forth the question in the following way, “How could we not embrace multiculturalism?” (42).

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General Signal Phrases Information:

http://department.monm.edu/english/mew/signal_phrases.htm

THE SIGNAL PHRASE

Definition of a signal phrase:

A phrase that signals to the reader that either a direct quote or a paraphrase is about to follow.

Examples:

The two most common and scholarly signal phrases are "Smith suggests that. . ." and "Smith argues that. . ."

The problem:

The examples above are both fine signal phrases, but a research paper that contains many in-text citations can become rather tedious to read if every quotation is introduced in the same manner, for all writers tend to develop their own particular writing style habits.

In other words, writers find words and phrases that become favorites, and develop a tendency to use them frequently. The signal phrase often proves to be an instance where this repetitiveness occurs.

Detecting the problem through proofreading and editing:

After you have a rough draft of your paper check all your signal phrases. If you discover that your favorite signal phrase verb seems to be “suggests,” then edit your paper by varying the verb. Although this is a simple revision tactic it is very effective, and will help to turn a somewhat tedious prose style into an interesting one.

Alternate signal phrase verbs:

Acknowledges, adds, admits, agrees, argues, asserts, believes, claims, comments, compares, confirms, contends, declares, denies, disputes, emphasizes, endorses, grants, illustrates, implies, insists, notes, observes, points out, reasons, refutes, rejects, reports, responds, suggests, thinks, writes.

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Another helpful ‘signal phrases’ website:

http://www.stlcc.edu/Student_Resources/Academic_Resources/Writing_Resources/Writing_Handouts/Signal%20Phrases%20to%20Introduce%20Sources.pdf

MLA STYLE INFORMATION (formatting rules for in text citations and Works Cited page entries)

For the purposes of an English 1302 class, you will be using ‘some’ electronic readings as your primary sources and obtaining literary journal articles (secondary sources) from the HCC Library Databases.

I have posted the link below where I obtained the information related to citing non-print sources from the Internet (the Owl at Purdue Website). Per the following information, you will not be including page numbers or paragraph numbers in your in text citations for ‘electronic’ sources. You will include the first item in the corresponding Works Cited entry to indicate to the reader of your paper where you obtained your information and provide a guide to the full bibliographical information.

For example, if a student is writing an essay based on Lahiri’s online electronic short story entitled, “The Third and Final Continent,” then an in text citation would include her last name in the parenthetical reference.

Sample in text citation for Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story entitled, “The Third and Final Continent”:

The author presents how cultural transformation can cause confusion when she reveals how the main character experiences something as simple as purchasing milk in a new country, “Quote typed out here word for word from the online story” (Lahiri).

By using Lahiri’s last name in the parenthetical reference, you are indicating to the reader of your paper to search your Works Cited page for the Lahiri entry for full reference information.

*I have posted works cited page samples in the mywritinglab document sharing list.

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Owl at Purdue MLA Style Information:

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in MLA. See also our  MLA vidcast series  on the  Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .

Creating a Works Cited list using the eighth edition

MLA is a style of documentation that may be applied to many different types of writing. Since texts have become increasingly digital, and the same document may often be found in several different sources, following a set of rigid rules no longer suffices.

Thus, the current system is based on a few guiding principles, rather than an extensive list of specific rules. While the handbook still describes how to cite sources, it is organized according to the process of documentation, rather than by the sources themselves. This gives writers a flexible method that is near-universally applicable.

Once you are familiar with the method, you can use it to document any type of source, for any type of paper, in any field.

Here is an overview of the process:

When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:

1. Author.

2. Title of source.

3. Title of container,

4. Other contributors,

5. Version,

6. Number,

7. Publisher,

8. Publication date,

9. Location.

Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark shown above. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation (such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers) depending on the type of source. In the current version, punctuation is simpler (only commas and periods separate the elements), and information about the source is kept to the basics.

AUTHOR

Begin the entry with the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name, as presented in the work. End this element with a period.

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.

TITLE OF SOURCE

The title of the source should follow the author’s name. Depending upon the type of source, it should be listed in italics or quotation marks.

A book should be in italics:

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, 1999.

An individual webpage should be in quotation marks. The name of the parent website, which MLA treats as a "container," should follow in italics:

Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html.*

A periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) article should be in quotation marks:

Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.

A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks. The name of the album should then follow in italics:

Beyoncé. "Pray You Catch Me." Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016, www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/.

*The MLA eighth edition handbook recommends including URLs when citing online sources. For more information, see the “Optional Elements” section below.

TITLE OF CONTAINER

Unlike earlier versions, the eighth edition refers to "containers," which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source, while the larger collection is the container. The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next describes the container.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

The container may also be a television series, which is made up of episodes.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2010.

The container may also be a website, which contains articles, postings, and other works.

Wise, DeWanda. “Why TV Shows Make Me Feel Less Alone.” NAMI, 31 May 2019,  www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/May-2019/How-TV-Shows-Make-Me-Feel-Less-Alone . Accessed 3 June 2019.

In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. You might have read a book of short stories on Google Books, or watched a television series on Netflix. You might have found the electronic version of a journal on JSTOR. It is important to cite these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, season 2, episode 21, NBC, 29 Apr. 2010. Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/70152031?trackId=200256157&tctx=0%2C20%2C0974d361-27cd-44de-9c2a-2d9d868b9f64-12120962.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest, doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

In addition to the author, there may be other contributors to the source who should be credited, such as editors, illustrators, translators, etc. If their contributions are relevant to your research, or necessary to identify the source, include their names in your documentation.

Note: In the eighth edition, terms like editor, illustrator, translator, etc., are no longer abbreviated.

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

Woolf, Virginia. Jacob’s Room. Annotated and with an introduction by Vara Neverow, Harcourt, Inc., 2008.

VERSION

If a source is listed as an edition or version of a work, include it in your citation.

The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

NUMBER

If a source is part of a numbered sequence, such as a multi-volume book or journal with both volume and issue numbers, those numbers must be listed in your citation.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2010.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.

PUBLISHER

The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public. If there is more than one publisher, and they are all are relevant to your research, list them in your citation, separated by a forward slash (/).

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive, www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.

Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation. Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2015.

Note: The publisher’s name need not be included in the following sources: periodicals, works published by their author or editor, websites whose titles are the same name as their publisher, websites that make works available but do not actually publish them (such as YouTube, WordPress, or JSTOR).

PUBLICATION DATE

The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source. For example, a television series might have aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on Netflix on a different date. When the source has more than one date, it is sufficient to use the date that is most relevant to your writing. If you’re unsure about which date to use, go with the date of the source’s original publication.

In the following example, Mutant Enemy is the primary production company, and “Hush” was released in 1999. Below is a general citation for this television episode:

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, Mutant Enemy, 1999.

However, if you are discussing, for example, the historical context in which the episode originally aired, you should cite the full date. Because you are specifying the date of airing, you would then use WB Television Network (rather than Mutant Enemy), because it was the network (rather than the production company) that aired the episode on the date you’re citing.

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, WB Television Network, 14 Dec. 1999.

LOCATION

You should be as specific as possible in identifying a work’s location.

An essay in a book or an article in a journal should include page numbers.

Adiche, Chimamanda Ngozi. “On Monday of Last Week.” The Thing around Your Neck, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, pp. 74-94.

The location of an online work should include a URL. Remove any "http://" or "https://" tag from the beginning of the URL.

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

When citing a physical object that you experienced firsthand, identify the place of location.

Matisse, Henri. The Swimming Pool. 1952, Museum of Modern Art, New York.

OPTIONAL ELEMENTS

The eighth edition is designed to be as streamlined as possible. The author should include any information that helps readers easily identify the source, without including unnecessary information that may be distracting. The following is a list of optional elements that can be included in a documented source at the writer’s discretion.

Date of original publication:

If a source has been published on more than one date, the writer may want to include both dates if it will provide the reader with necessary or helpful information.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.

City of publication:

The seventh edition handbook required the city in which a publisher is located, but the eighth edition states that this is only necessary in particular instances, such as in a work published before 1900. Since pre-1900 works were usually associated with the city in which they were published, your documentation may substitute the city name for the publisher’s name.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions. Boston, 1863.

Date of access:

When you cite an online source, the MLA Handbook recommends including a date of access on which you accessed the material, since an online work may change or move at any time.

Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.

URLs:

As mentioned above, while the eighth edition recommends including URLs when you cite online sources, you should always check with your instructor or editor and include URLs at their discretion.

DOIs:

A DOI, or digital object identifier, is a series of digits and letters that leads to the location of an online source. Articles in journals are often assigned DOIs to ensure that the source is locatable, even if the URL changes. If your source is listed with a DOI, use that instead of a URL.

Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. "Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates." Environmental Toxicology, vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, doi: 10.1002/tox.20155.

CREATING IN-TEXT CITATIONS USING THE EIGHTH EDITION

The in-text citation is a brief reference within your text that indicates the source you consulted. It should properly attribute any ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotations to your source, and should direct readers to the entry in the Works Cited list. For the most part, an in-text citation is the author’s name and the page number (or just the page number, if the author is named in the sentence) in parentheses:

Imperialism is “the practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory” (Said 9).

or

According to Edward W. Said, imperialism is defined by “the practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory” (9).

Work Cited

Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. Knopf, 1994.

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

Again, your goal is to attribute your source and provide a reference without interrupting your text. Your readers should be able to follow the flow of your argument without becoming distracted by extra information.

FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE EIGHTH EDITION

The current MLA guidelines teach a widely applicable skill for citing research. Once you become familiar with the core elements that should be included in each entry in the Works Cited page, you will be able to create documentation for almost any type of source. While the handbook still includes helpful examples that you may use as guidelines, it is not necessary to consult it every time you need to cite a source you’ve never used before. If you include the core elements, in the proper order, using consistent punctuation, you will be fully equipped to create a Works Cited page.

HOW TO CITE THE PURDUE OWL IN MLA

Entire Website

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2019.

Individual Resources

Contributors' names. "Title of Resource." The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab, Last edited date.

The new OWL no longer lists most pages' authors or publication dates. Thus, in most cases, citations will begin with the title of the resource, rather than the developer's name.

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab. Accessed 18 Jun. 2018.