company report 3

© 2010 FIDM/ Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising

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MODULE #6 SCREENCAST TRANSCRIPT

Creating an MLA Formatted Works Cited & In-Text Documentation

By first completing your research, creating an outline and selecting quotes for integration, you are now aware of what sources you will be using in creating a Works Cited. The entries you created for your Sources Review Assignment should already be in MLA formats and specific for the quote, page, short work, graph or chart you intend to include in your text, so creating a Works Cited should be a matter of compilation and introduction of new or additional sources you discovered recently.

Documentation in a Magazine vs. Documentation in a Report Imagine the photo pages of Vogue or other fashion magazines. Usually references are placed on the page giving credit to the designers who supplied the garments, accessories, hair styling, make-up and jewelry in the photos. Why? It is required, necessary and standard to give credit to those who created the elements. Similarly, it is required that you document all factual information, graphics, quotes, opinions and insights that you have not written. Otherwise, you will be plagiarizing! You also want your reader to appreciate and trust your sources. Your goal is to formulate, propose and add your own insights by integrating, supporting and documenting valuable sources in support of your own analysis. This way you will avoid a mere collection of quotes – the copy and paste job – which is not effective writing. You want to add your insight and analysis by synthesizing the qualitative, quantitative and responsive research you have identified as the most valuable and relevant in support of your own personal perspective and thesis. This is the reason and purpose of in-text documentation. Think back to a Vogue magazine. Usually, near the photo credits there will be a reference “Where to Buy?” or some directive guiding the reader to a particular page near the back of the magazine. In a sense, this is the Works Cited. This offers the reader the possibility to actually purchase and fully experience the items featured in the photo. The Works Cited in a research paper is similar. You are offering the reader the opportunity to access the entire source from which you have quoted. Think of it as effective customer service. Assume the reader wants to read the entire article,

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webpage or book you referenced. It is standard, required and necessary for professional writing. Let’s begin with the Works Cited. You may again refer to these models for help and guidance, which you used for your sources review in creating separate entries:

Formats for Works Cited Entries See your textbook, Section 2 pages 60-84, and refer to the Works Cited sample on page 65. If you need help with creating individual Works Cited Entries or a drafted Works Cited, try using the following web sites:

• www.easybib.com • www.citationmachine.net

Be sure to fill in all fields for correct documentation of online or web sources. Each page or section you include from a website requires a unique and separate Works Cited Entry. For example, a company’s “Annual Report” (a document posted on its website) requires a separate Works Cited Entry from its “Company History” page (a linked section/page of its website). You can export a draft of your Works Cited from easybib.com in Word format, but you must proofread and ensure that it is formatted correctly! You may also find these websites helpful in compiling your preliminary Works Cited:

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1/ (Click on the left menu of the site above for more specific information.)

Be sure to follow the MLA format samples and collaborate with your team members so that you manage your time and format each source correctly in plenty of time before the deadline.

Points to Remember Remember a Works Cited is alphabetized, not numbered, has no bullet points, and follows standard formatting. Spacing, indentation, fonts and specifics are crucial, so research as many samples as necessary for you to fully understand what is required. It is not necessary to provide in-text quotes for every source listed on your Works Cited page, but you should have a minimum of 12 entries. Before you submit your Works Cited, double-check that the in-text quotes you are planning on using in your report are documented correctly.

• If a reader read the quote, have you identified the specific writer or speaker of the quote?

• What specific page, report or section of the website, article or book did you pull it from?

• Have you created different, unique entries on your Works Cited for “Annual Report”, “Company Background”, “Stock Price History” and “Analysts Opinions” if needed?

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• Do these distinct titles appear as the first item for separate entries in the Works Cited entry (they should) or have you merely grouped these all into one entry www.apple.com (not acceptable)?

• You may have multiple sources and Works Cited entries from a single website. If you include a graphic, will you identified it correctly in the text and does the reference track back to a specific Works Cited entry? It should.

As you move forward in writing your first draft, you will be integrating in-text documentation, so now is the best time to ensure that you have identified and documented your sources and Works Cited correctly. Refer to the Assignment Rubric for areas of evaluation and scoring.