Department of English

Documenting Sources (MLA Style)

To "document" means to tell the reader the source of any material you use in writing your own essay. Material needing to be documented includes information, statistical data, and opinions as well as the words used to express such ideas. You need to document, or cite, your sources whether or not you are using the exact words of the original material. If you are using any of the exact words (even just a phrase), you need to put quotation marks around those words in addition to citing the source.

Works Cited Page

One essential part of documentation is to create a "works cited page" that lists all the articles or other sources you use in your essay. It lists all the information a reader would need to locate the source, and it does so according to a particular format--in this case, the "style" recommended by the Modern Language Association (MLA). The MLA citation style recommendations for several frequently used sources:

  1. An article from a monthly or bimonthly periodical:

    Baber, Asa. "Are Women Fit for Combat?" Playboy Sept. 1990: 12.
  2. An article from a weekly or biweekly periodical:

    Eskin, Leah. "Breaking Barriers." Scholastic Update 6 Oct. 1989: 20-21.
  3. An article from a daily newspaper:

    Schmitt, Eric. "Two Out of Three Women in Military Study Report Sexual Harassment Incidents." The New York Times 10 Sept. 1990: A-12.
  4. If an author's name is not given, begin the entry with the title:

    "A Fresh Shot at Full Equality." U.S. News and World Report 15 Jan. 1990: 12.

    After the information is arranged in the proper form, the entries are listed in alphabetical order so that the resulting works cited page looks like this:

    Baber, Asa. "Are Women Fit for Combat?" Playboy Sept. 1990: 12.

    Eskin, Leah. "Breaking Barriers." Scholastic Update 6 Oct. 1989: 20-21.

    "A Fresh Shot at Full Equality." U.S. News and World Report 15 Jan. 1990: 12.

    Schmitt, Eric. "Two Out of Three Women in Military Study Report Sexual Harassment Incidents." The New York Times 10 Sept. 1990: A-12.

Help with On-line Sources

"Beyond the MLA Handbook" at
http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/1.2/inbox/mla_archive.html

"Research and Documentation" by Diane Hacker at
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/

For further information about the WEPT, please contact Lindsey Martin-Bowen Coordinator of Writing Assessment, by phone at (816) 235-2563 or via email at bowenlm@umkc.edu