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SCI 9: Dynamic Earth: How to Cite

How to Cite using MLA 8

For each source you use, create a full citation.

Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Source.” Title of Container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

What is a Container?

  • Container = What holds the source

    • (the journal, the database, the encyclopedia, the album, the season...)

  • Additional containers = the place where you found it, if applicable.

    • (Spotify, EBSCO, Netflix)

 

What if some information is missing?

  • SKIP it. You are only required to cite the information you have in front of you

Citing from Databases

All databases and online encyclopedias will give you the correct citation. All you need to do is copy/paste it.

Here are the icons to look for:

- Britannica

- World Book

- History Reference Center

Required Citation Maker

Formatting a Works Cited page

After creating your citations, list them at the end of your paper in the correct format.

Title the page: Works Cited (centered)

  • Double line spacing throughout
  • No "empty" lines between entries
  • Entries in alphabetical order
  • Size 12 font (same as the essay)
  • Reverse indent each entry (the second line of any entry is indented 5-7 spaces)

Video: Formatting your MLA Works Cited page

It should look like the example HERE from Purdue OWL 

Citation Puncutation

Citation makers are handy but....they aren't SMART. They are only pulling meta-data from behind the website; they can't think! 

If you use a citation maker to create a full citation, watch for:

  • correct punctuation
  • no all-caps
  • the right order

MLA 8 simplifies the punctuation system:

  • Period after author
  • Period after Title (title is italicized)
  • Commas between all details about the Container
  • Period at the very end

Examples

Books

McCollum, Sean. Stalin. Franklin Watts, 2010.

Websites

"Oliver Platt." Biography, 1 Aug. 2018, www.biography.com/people/oliver-platt.

Encyclopedias

"Continental drift." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 Jun. 2013. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/continental-drift/26055.

Databases

"Continental drift theory." World of Earth Science, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Gale, 2007. Science In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CV2641950100/SCIC?u=coro&sid=SCIC&xid=2b86f2f7.