How to Cite Sources

 

What does “citation” mean?

 

A citation is using a quote from a story, poem, or play to support your opinion. It can be anything from the story, not just something a character says.

 

CITATION RULES:

 

How do I show the page number? What goes in the brackets?

 

One author: if you are quoting from one story, book or play, place the page number in parentheses. 

 

Example:  (22).

 

More than one author: if you are quoting from two or more stories, books or plays, place the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the page number in parentheses. 

 

Example:  (Smith, 22).

 

 

THE EXAMPLE BELOW IS THE FORMAT FOR CITING A QUOTE THAT IS 40 WORDS OR LESS.

 

Punctuation: The whole quote goes inside quotation marks, except the period at the end, which goes after the page number in parentheses, not inside the quotation marks.

 

Example:

When Cindy returns home from school, her mother tells her to work before going to the dance. She says, “You ought to help out a little more. I’m tired. I’ve been working all day.  Don’t expect to get out of here tonight without doing the dishes and mopping the floor”(13).  

 

Exception: Question marks or exclamation marks stay inside the quotation mark, AND you still put a period after the page number. (Yes, it’s extra.)

 

Example:  

 

“‘We need more cups!’ Dara cries. ‘Cindy, where are the cups?’” (10).

 

Special formatting: If you have dialogue within a quote, use single quotes around the dialogue only if the quote contains both dialogue and narration.

 

Example:

 

“‘You’re serving the punch tonight, aren’t you, Cindy?’ Agnes says.  It isn’t really a question” (10).

 

 

 

THE FORMAT IS DIFFERENT FOR QUOTES LONGER THAN 40 WORDS.  You must bring in the margins five spaces on each side and you do not use any quotation marks unless there is dialogue.

 

Example:   

 

              Cindy’s complete lack of confidence in the transformation becomes clear as she begins to anticipate  

 

              how the night will unfold. (THIS IS THE CONTEXT) She knows what is going to happen. They are going

 

              to send her to the washroom to scrub off the make-up and change back into her old, dark hand-me-downs.

 

              Then she will return to serve punch all night to Jeff and Marybeth and Dara and Agnes, and everything will

 

              be the way it’s always been (17).

 

(NOTICE THERE ARE NO QUOTATION MARKS!)

 

Skipping parts of a quote:  If you want to take out the middle of a quote, use an ellipsis (…) to show that you are skipping a part.

 

Example:   “A larger mirror appears across from Cindy … She is completely transformed” (16).

 

 

Making quotes read correctly:  If you change something in the quote to make it read correctly, use square brackets around the changed text.

 

Example:  Tyra Banks stated in an interview with CNN Morning News on April 3, 1998, that she has cellulite and stretch marks and that she “disappoint[s] people who meet [her] in person because [she doesn’t look like herself].”

 

What she actually said: “I disappoint people who meet me in person because I don’t look like myself.”

 

(ONLY FOR CHANGING POINT OF VIEW OR TENSE)

 

Example CSI Paragraph:

 

a) State your point (claim)

 

By the end of the play, Keller finally starts to show some respect to others.

 

b) Introduce the context of your quotation (support)

 

For example, when Annie and Helen first return from the garden house, Helen wants to test the waters, so she misbehaves at the dinner table and spills the water pitcher.   Annie refuses to let Helen get away with this, so she removes Helen from the table.  Keller tries to intervene, insisting that Annie is being too rough, but James stops him and tells Keller that he is wrong.

 

c) Provide the quotation (support)

 

Keller then orders everyone to sit down, but when James remains standing, Keller says, “Please sit down, Jimmie” (107). 

 

d) Explain how the quotation proves your point and/or why it is significant. (insight)

This sudden show of manners indicates that Keller is finally ready to see others as his equals.  The fact that he consents to James’s request also suggests that he is willing to consider what is truly best for Helen, even if it is not what he thinks. Keller seems to finally be realizing that one of the best ways to make his own life more peaceful is to show that he values those around him. At long last, Keller has come down to earth.

 

Creating a Works Cited Page

 

This image will give you a general idea of what each entry should look like.  Below you will find a sample of a works cited page and instructions for how to format each of the different mediums.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to the Middle School Learning Commons Staff, who have provided the following document.

 

How To Format Your Works Cited Page:

 

o The page should be double spaced & the title should be centred.

 

o Entries should be listed in alphabetical order

 

o Each new entry begins at the left side margin, with additional lines indented.

 

 

 

 

                                                                 Works Cited

 

 

               Bannatyne, Lesley P. “Halloween.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2004 ed. Print.

 

               Knight, Charles A. “Snow.” World Book Student. World Book, 2009. Web. 22 Oct. 2009.

 

               MacLeod, Elizabeth. Helen Keller: A Determined Life. Toronto: Kids Can, 2004. Print.

 

               Morris, Ann, and Heidi Larson. Tsunami: Helping Each Other. Minneapolis: Millbrook, 2005.

 

                     Print.

 

               Sheffield, Betty. “Frequently Asked Questions About Snow.” All About Snow. Natl. Snow and

 

                     Ice Data Center, Nov. 2002. Web. 17 Oct. 2009.

 

 

 

Book

 

1)   Name of Author (Last name, First name.)

2)   Title of Work.  (Italics)

3)   Edition used. (if applicable: # ed.)

4)   City of Publication: Name of Publisher, Year of Publication.

5)   Medium of Publication. (Print.)

 

Note:

·    If the work has an editor, put the editor’s name, ed. (Last name, First name, ed.)

·    Shorten the publisher’s name by omitting articles (ie. An, the), business abbreviations (ie. Corp., Inc.) and descriptive words (ie. Press, House, Books).

 

One Author Example:

 

Gibbons, Gail. Marshes & Swamps. New York: Holiday House, 1998. Print. MacQuintty, Miranda. Eyewitness Books:

 

      Ocean. Toronto: Stoddart, 1995. Print.

 

Two or More Authors Examples:

 

 

Stokes, Donald, Lillian Stokes, and Ernest Williams. Stokes Butterfly Book. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1991.

 

      Print.

 

Woods, Michael, and Mary B. Woods. Disasters Up Close: Environmental Disasters. Minneapolis: Lerner, 2008. Print.

 

·    Give names in the same order as on the title page

·    Reverse the first author’s name only, followed by the next names in normal order

·    If there are more than three authors you can give all their names, or you can put only the first author and “et al.”

 

 

Encyclopedia

 

1)   Name of Author (Last name, First name)

2)   “Title of Article.” (Quotations)

3)   Title of Encyclopedia. (Italics.)

4)   Year/Edition.

5)   Medium of Publication. (Print.)

 

Example:

 

Genovese, E.N. “Diamond.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2004 ed. Print

 

 

Online Encyclopedia

 

1)   Name of Author (Last name, First name.)

2)   “Title of Article.” (Quotations)

3)   Title of Online Encyclopedia. (Italics.)

4)   Publisher,

5)   Year.

6)   Medium of Publication. (Web.)

7)   Date accessed.

 

Examples:

 

Boyd, Bruce, and Michel Brau Boucher. “Diamond.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation, 2009. Web. 13

 

      Oct. 2009.

 

Gait, Robert I. “Emereld.” World Book Student. World Book, 2009. Web. 15 Oct. 2009. Helper, Mark A. “Diamond.”

 

      World Book Advanced. World Book, 2009. Web. 14 Oct. 2009.

 

 

Website

 

·    Not necessary to include URL unless the reader will not be able to find the site without it, or if your teacher requires that you include it.

·    Add URL at the end of the citation in angle brackets (< >) with a period at the end.

·    Try to fit the URL on one line, and split it only at slashes when necessary.

 

1)   Name of Author. (Last name, First name.)

2)   Title of Work. (Italics if the site is independent; “quotation marks” if the page is part of a larger site.)

3)   Title of Overall Website. (Italics.) – if different from #2.

4)   Publisher/Sponsor of Site, – if none exists, use N.p.,

5)   Date of Publication. – if not available, use n.d.

6)   Medium of Publication. (Web.)

7)   Date of Access. (DD Mon. YYYY).

 

Examples:

 

Alincoln. The History Place, 1996. Web. 17 Oct. 2009.

 

Attias, Bernado. Welcome to the World of Michel Foucault. N.p., May 2002. Web. 21 Oct. 2009.

 

“Fun Facts & Quotes.” Helen Keller Kids Museum Online. American Foundation for the Blind, 2009. Web. 18 Oct. 2009.

 

Movie

 

Lucas, George, dir. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977. Film.

 

Poem or Short Story

 

 

Burns, Robert. "Red, Red Rose." 100 Best-Loved Poems. Ed. Philip Smith. New York: Dover, 1995. 26. Print.