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Documenting Sources: MLA and APA 


Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

MLA style is widely used in literature and languages as well as other fields. . . . MLA style requires parenthetical citations in the text of an essay to document quotations, paraphrases, summaries, and other material requiring documentation. Keep your parenthetical citations short, but include the information your readers need to locate the full citation in the list of works cited at the end of the text. (Lunsford and Connor 293)

Lunsford, Andrea and Robert Connors. "Documenting Sources, MLA Style. " The Everyday Writer. Boston: St. Martin's, 1999.

For more information. . .
MLA Examples from The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center
http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/DocMLA.html
This site provides help with the technicalities of the MLA parenthetical documentation style – also gives MLA Works Cited examples.

To cite sources from the World Wide Web in MLA format: mla.org



American Psychological Association (APA) Style

The APA format for referencing source materials was established by the American Psychological Association. It is used by psychologists, sociologists, and other scientists. ". . . The APA format requires short notes, or citations, put in parentheses within the text instead of footnotes or endnotes "(Keene & Adams, 1999, p. 164)..

Keene, Michael & Katherine Adams. (1999). APA documentation style. In Easy Access: The Reference Handbook for Writers 3rd ed. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.

For more information check the official APA website: apa.org. 

 


 PLAGIARISM

To avoid plagiarism, carefully cite all information taken from another author, using the format (e.g. MLA, APA. Chicago, CBE, etc.) assigned by your instructor. Shasta College Board Policy 5410 states that plagiarism is a matter of academic dishonesty. According to the Shasta College Course Catalog 2002-03, “Academic dishonesty“ is defined as follows:

Academic dishonesty is the willful and intentional fraud and deception for the purpose of improving a grade or obtaining course credit, and includes all student behavior intended to gain or provide unearned academic advantage by fraudulent and/or deceptive means. The student has the full responsibility for the content and integrity of all academic work submitted. Ignorance of a rule does not constitute a basis for waiving the rule or the consequences of that rule. Students unclear about a specific situation should ask their instructors, who will explain what is and is not acceptable in their classes. Violation of this policy will result in appropriate disciplinary action. Examples of such unauthorized behavior include but are not limited to: [. . .] Plagiarism [which is] Failing to give credit for ideas, statement of facts, or conclusions derived by another author. Failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, a sentence, or a part thereof. (23, emphasis ours)

 

 

 

Works Cited

“Academic Honesty Policy.” Shasta College 2002-2003 Catalog. Redding: Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District, 2002.

Shasta College Writing Center
11555 Old Oregon Trail
Redding, CA 96049
(530) 242-7589
youwriteright@shastacollege.edu