Dance 231: Fundamentals of Choreography and Improvisation

Title Slide: MLA Citation Basics

[Image: St. Olaf Libraries and IT logo]

Slide 1: Why are citations necessary?

• It is ethical and fair.
  • Gives credit to the originator of the idea
• It demonstrates our own reliability and expertise as researchers.
  • Allows readers to fact-check our sources and make sure they are complete

Slide 2: Why do I use different citation systems in different classes?

Different research disciplines have different priorities.

• The Humanities want page numbers so readers can find the source of the quotation or paraphrase quickly.
• The Sciences want the publication date so readers can instantly see how recent the research is.

Slide 3: What's the MLA citation style?

• MLA = Modern Language Association
  • Professional organization for literature, etc.
  • most common style used in the humanities (arts, literature, etc.)

Slide 4: What's the MLA citation style?

Two-part citations

• Works Cited page at end of essay
  • complete bibliographic details for each source
• In-Text citations in parentheses
  • abbreviated details so readers can find the full citation in the works cited page

Slide 5: Basic In-Text Citations

(Author's Last Name page number)

Direct Quotation:

"Lomax was making a judgement about inequality and the forces at work on the aesthetics of the American people" (Szwed 139).

Slide 6: Basic In-Text Citations

(Author's Last Name page number)

Paraphrase (same as for quotations):

Lomax's collaborations with Jelly Roll Morton were part of his larger statement on aesthetics and inequality in American jazz (Szwed 139).

Slide 7: Basic In-Text Citations

(Author's Last Name page number)

If the author is mentioned in the body of the sentence, include only the page number in the parentheses:

Szwed argues that Lomax's collaborations with Jelly Roll Morton were part of his larger statement on aesthetics and inequality in American jazz (139).

Slide 8: Basic Entries in an MLA Works Cited Page

There is no single format for Works Cited entries!

The details you include depend on the kind of resource you are citing: book, article, essay within a book, webpage, etc.

Always check the style guide!

Slide 9: Where's the style guide?

MLA Handbook, 9th edition

• call number: LB 2369 .M59 2021 in both Rølvaag and Halvorson Libraries

Purdue Owl Citation Guide

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html 
• Look for "MLA" in the side menu

Slide 10: Citation buttons

Many databases and e-books have citation buttons

These are handy, BUT ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK THEM.

• Sometimes citation generators import data into the wrong part of the citation format.
• MLA style just updated in 2021, and the citation generators haven't caught up yet with the changes.