XI. MLA Guidelines for Citation

Gilman follows the Modern Language Association’s (MLA) system for citation in papers for which the author uses any outside sources.  To properly credit those upon whose work you have drawn and to comply with Gilman’s Honor Code, follow these three rules:

1.      Include a list of Works Cited

At the end of your paper, title a separate page Works Cited.  (This is preferable to “Bibliography,” which simply means “list of books.”)  Include any source, be it a book, an Internet site, film, class notes, etc. to which you, the author, owe credit for words, facts, or ideas in your paper. See “How to create a list of works cited” on the next page for the proper format.

2.      Include parenthetical documentation for entries in the Works Cited throughout your paper.

Parenthetical citations have replaced the citation footnote MLA style.  Your Works Cited page tells your reader what sources you have used; your parenthetical references tell the reader where you used them.

3.      Properly distinguish between your words and ideas and someone else’s.

  • If you are copying words from your source, it must be cited. 

  •  If you are putting ideas from a source into your own words, the source must be cited. 

  • If you incorporate a fact that is not common knowledge, you must cite a source for it. (Common knowledge comprises information known to the average layperson.  If you did not know the fact prior to undertaking the writing project, it is not common knowledge.  While you must cite the words and ideas of others to give proper credit and avoid plagiarism, you must cite sources for matters of fact to support your assertions.)