Parenthetical Citations, Footnotes, and Endnotes
in disgustingly gross detail.
Reminder: We use parenthetical citations to give
credit to the people’s thoughts we use. We give credit for:
direct quotes paraphrasing summarizing
What’s a Direct Quote? A direct quote happens when you
write down EXACTLY what another person or author wrote, not just when you are conducting an interview.
Example “Green chile is part of my soul,”
(McNamer, interview) said a former New Mexican resident.
What does paraphrasing mean?
Basically, paraphrasing is when you explain what your source said in your own words. You still have to give them credit!
How is a summary different? Paraphrasing is used for smaller
concepts. When you summarize, you take a big idea and explain it in less complex terms.
Example The St. Louis Rams destroyed the
Arizona Cardinals winning streak (“St. Louis Rams hand Arizona Cardinals their first loss”).
Notice how we left out details about the football game but still gave our source CREDIT.
The general parenthetical citation from a book:
We see Scout admit that she lies to her father when she says, “I said I could like it very much, which was a lie, but one must lie under certain circumstances” (Lee 128).
Two things to note: We see Scout admit that she lies to her father when she
says, “I said I could like it very much, which was a lie, but one must lie under certain circumstances” (Lee 128).
1. The author’s name and page number appear without a “p” or comma• we know the number
is a page• we don’t need a
comma, either
2. Punctuation appears outside the quotation• there are certain
circumstances that require punctuation inside the quotation…
“Certain circumstances:” When the quotation has pertinent
punctuation in it that change the meaning if omitted The older waiter in Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-
Lighted Place" asks himself, "What did he fear?" (79).
But notice, there is still a closing punctuation mark after the citation
Speaking of Hemingway… You might have noticed that the citation
didn’t have an author in it! The older waiter in Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-
Lighted Place" asks himself, "What did he fear?" (79). That’s because I already gave the
author credit! Do you see it?
Trickery: Citing the author this
way (in the sentence itself) accomplishes two things:
1. It cites the author (duh).2. It varies your sentence
structure automatically for you!– this = good writing
What about those pesky internet sources?
Cite the author, forget the page number No pages exist in cyberspace.
No author? Should you really use the site? If no one takes credit for it, is it
a credible site? If you must, cite the website
Internet Example (Preferable)
If you MUST use one without an author, use the article title: There is no truth to the rumor that al-Qaeda
has poisoned the Coca-Cola supply in our country (“Coca-Cola No Al Queda”).
Internet example (no title?): There is no truth to the rumor that al-
Qaeda has poisoned the Coca-Cola supply in our country (snopes.com).
Note:• I did not give the complete
URL, only the main title.• The complete URL goes
in your works cited page.
• Also note that the good folks at “snopes.com” DO take credit for their work
• Their names are Barbara and David Mickelson and they do a nice job fact-checking…
What? Interview sources? Cite the last
name of the interviewee.
Then, say that it was an interview.
Interview example: As junior students, we were told that
this paper is “dummy proof and it’s impossible to do wrong if you try” (Lesh, Interview).
Note the same rules apply:1. No comma2. Punctuation outside of the
parentheses
Remember… Parenthetical citations are just the
beginning. Your complete citations should be listed on your Works Cited page or Bibliography.
Not really into parentheticals?
Don’t sweat it. You have options. Try using a footnote or endnote. These guys allow you to include all
your parenthetical information at the bottom of the page or the end of your research paper.
Footnotes and Endnotes Really, these guys just
give you more citation options.
Both appear as a superscript.1
Both appear numerically.
See? Here’s a superscript.Look! It’s also outside of the punctuation!
Where do I put them? These little buggers appear at the
END of you page Endnotes don’t appear until the
end of your entire research paper, right before your works cited page.
Properly formattedFootnotes
Ta-Da!
Endnotes, just like your Works Cited page, get a whole page to themselves.
Woo hoo!
The first citation is key! This is because the first time you
use a footnote or endnote you must do a complete citation!
But, the citation format is different from the Works Cited or Bibliography format.
Pay close attention…Author first name, author last name,
Title of Source (Publishing location: Publisher, year published) Page number you used.
After the first citation… …things get really easy. After the first citation, all you need
to include is the author name and the page you used. Remember, if this information isn’t available, you move on to use the title of publishing company.
Remember when I said it’s almost like, “Where’s
Waldo?” I really wasn’t kidding. Just like
traditional MLA book citations, each endnote and footnote citation will be slightly different depending on your source.
So, be careful! And, ask for a second opinion if you think you might need it.
Finally… If you can out-perform the student
on the next slide by creating a song that helps us memorize an aspect of MLA citations either on your own or in a group I will give you 5 points of extra credit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfambCy5YDE&feature=related
Works Cited
Blackcatcia. "MLA Citation Memorization Song." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 07 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfambCy5YDE>.
"Game Center." NFL : Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams. Nfl.com, 06 Oct. 2012. Web. 07 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2012100400/2012/REG5/cardinals@rams>.
Lesh, Benjamin. "Parenthetical Citations." Parenthetical Citations. Www.slideshare.net, 07 Oct. 2007. Web. 07 Oct. 2012.
http://www.slideshare.net/leshb/parenthetical-citations-127716>.
McNamer, Anna M. "Interview." Personal interview. 07 Oct. 2012.