CitationsPrepared by Danny Hirsch

October 8, 2015

What Is a Citation?

• “A quotation from or reference to a book, paper, or author, especially in a scholarly work” (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary). • Examples:• According to the World Health Organization, “In 2013 an estimated 2.1 million

people were newly infected with HIV” (“World Health Statistics 2015,” p. 19). • Anne-Marie Slaughter argues that the European Court of Human Rights is one

of the world’s leading human rights courts (A New World Order).• Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, studied at Seoul National

University and Harvard University (UN, Office of the Secretary-General).

Why are Citations Necessary?

• Give credit where credit is due• Intellectual honesty

• Give readers resources for more research• Avoid plagiarism!• Plagiarism is “The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing

them off as one’s own” (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

Citation Strategies1. Footnotes

1. “a note with added information that is placed below the text on a printed page” (Merriam-Webster Online)

2. A number that appears in small font at the end of a sentence, corresponding to a number at the bottom of the page with the citation.

2. In-text citations + Works Cited1. An in-text citation is a note at the end of a sentence, usually in parentheses,

that lists key parts of the citation, such as the author’s name, publication title, and/or page number.

2. In-text citations are therefore partial citations.1. Example: Brian Leiter’s book begins with a story about a boy bringing a knife to school

(Why Tolerate Religion: 1). 3. Full or complete citations appear in the Works Cited page.

Citation Styles

• There are dozens, maybe hundreds, maybe thousands of ways to cite different types of evidence!• We will use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation style,

which I explain in the Works Cited handout, available on the IES Neil Armstrong Weebly page.• Many websites also explain the MLA citation style, such as Purdue

University’s Online Writing Lab (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/)

Answers to HomeworkBook format: Author’s last name, author’s first name. Title of Book. City of Publication (include state or country name if useful): Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication (usually “Print”).

Leiter, Brian. Why Tolerate Religion? Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2013. Print.

Newspaper article format: Author’s last name, author’s first name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages (if available). Medium of publication (probably “Web” or “Print”).

Hubbard, Ben. “Migration of Young Men Poses Risks for Both Syria and Europe.” New York Times 7 October 2015. Web.

This line should be indented!

More Answers to HomeworkWebpage format: Author’s last name, author’s first name (if available). “Article title.” Name of website. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication (probably “Web”). Date of access.

“Instituto de Educación Secundaria Neil Armstrong.” ValdemoroEduca. Ayuntamiento de Valdemoro, Comunidad de Madrid. Web. 12 October 2015.

Scholarly article format: Author’s last name, author’s first name. “Article title.” Publication title Volume Number.Issue Number (Year of publication): page numbers.

Farer, Tom. “The United Nations and Human Rights: More than a Whimper Less than a Roar.” Human Rights Quarterly 9.4 (1987): 550-586.

Magazine article format: Author’s last name, author’s first name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages (if available). Medium of publication (probably “Web” or “Print”).

Thompson, Nicholas. “Microsoft’s Very Good Day.” New Yorker 6 October 2015. Web.