Entering the Converstation
We’ve come full circle. You found the scholarly conversation on your topic and chose the best sources. Now it’s time to organize and write your paper or presentation, which is entering the scholarly conversation yourself.
When entering the conversation, it’s important to acknowledge the voices that have gone before and how they influence your own analysis. In academic writing, this is done through citations. Just like the scholars we saw in Where do I start? cite each other in their literary criticism to engage in the conversation, you will need to formally cite your sources as well. This is ethical use of information and builds your credibility and subject expertise as an author.
As you write, you may find you need to return to other parts of the research process. For example, you may find you need another source to back up an argument you’re making or that you’re missing an important part of the background for your interpretation. Or, the perspective of a new author may change your mind. That’s completely normal. Research isn’t linear, and it can often be messy.
- What is the scholarly conversation?
Not sure what the scholarly conversation is? No sweat. Check this page out.
MLA 9th
Why Cite?
There are several reasons why crediting sources is necessary in academic writing. First, it shows the reader that the author has researched the background of the problem and is able to discuss previous research. Second, it gives credit to past researchers whose research has added to the body of knowledge on the topic.
When to Cite?
Work should be cited if the work, ideas, theories, or research have influenced the current author's work. This also shows the current author has read the work.
| 1. Author | 2. Title of Source | 3. Title of Container |
| 4. Contributors | 5. Version | 6. Number |
| 7. Publisher | 8. Publication Date | 9. Location |
Note:
Not all elements will necessarily be present in each citation you create. Also, it is possible that elements 3 through 9 might appear more than once. Each source will be slightly different, but the general format for each will resemble the examples in the template below.
- MLA 9th Paper TemplateStart with the word document template, which is already formatted for MLA 9th ed. Then put in your own information, citations, and writing.
Electronic Articles
Example 1: Electronic Article from a Database
Author, First and Second Author. Title of Article. Title of the Journal in Italics, volume, issue, publication date, page numbers. database name, doi:(or https://doi.org/xxx.xxx). Optional access date.
Rauer, Amy, and Brenda Volling.“More Than One Way to be Happy: A Typology of Marital Happiness.” Family Process, vol.52, no.3, 2013, pp. 519-534. Academic Search Complete, doi:10.1111/famp.12028. Accessed 13 Apr. 2018.
Example 2: Electronic Article without DOI
Author, First. Title of Article. Title of the Journal in Italics, volume, issue, publication date, page numbers, database name, article's stable URL. Optional Access date.
Pollard, Stephen.“Mathematics and the Good Life.” Philosophia Mathematica, vol. 21, no. 1, Feb. 2013, pp. 93-109, Academic Search Complete, http://db26.lnccwb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=85817538&site=ehost-live. Accessed 6 Aug. 2018.
Print Articles
Author, First. Title of Article. Title of the Journal in Italics, volume, issue, publication date, page numbers.
Verschoor, Curtis C. "How Colleges Hide Investments to Avoid Taxes: Should Universities Use Tax Haven Corporations?" Strategic Finance, vol. 99, no. 9. Mar. 2018, pp. 21-22.
Books
Example 1: Book by a single author
Author, First.Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
Brettell, Caroline. Anthropological Conversations: Talking Culture Across Disciplines. Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.
Example 2: Book by two authors
Author, First and Second Author.Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date
Berger, Kathleen S. and Ross A. Thompson. The Developing Person Through Childhood. Worth Publishers, 2003.
Example 3: Books with three or more authors
Author, First, et. al. (Year). Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date
Verdier, Thierry, et al. The Organization of Firms in a Global Economy. Harvard UP, 2008.
Example 4: Electronic book (eBook) from a library database
Author, First.Title of Book. Database name, Publisher, Publication Date
Arthur, Charles. Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Battle for the Internet. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost),
Kogan Page, 2012.
Any time you quote or paraphrase from a source within the text of your project, you must give credit to the source by using an in-text citation.
The general format is to include the author(s) name(s) and the page number or numbers of the quoted/paraphrased passage:
(Pollard 102)
(Arthur 133-134)
(Verdier et al. 228-230)
If there are no page numbers, like in the example of a website or a journal article in HTML, you would simply only include the author(s) name:
(Matus)
For further help with citation questions and examples, consult some of the guides listed below from other colleges and universities:
How do I write a literary essay?
When writing about literature, consider the following:
- Writing about literature takes critical thinking. Do your thinking before you write.Click the link above if you need help thinking critically about literature.
- Essays about literature center around a thesis.Click the link above for help writing your thesis.
- Analytical arguments are central to the literary essay.Click the link above for help writing analytical paragraphs about literature.
- Make sure to proof read your paper for grammar and typos before turning it in.Click the link above if you have questions about punctuation, common spelling errors, or any other grammatical topic.
Don't know where to start? Try one of these guides on how to generate ideas for literature essays.
Need more specific help? Try one of these guides to writing about literature.
How do I quote, paraphrase, or summarize a source?
In literary analysis, broader points are often made using summary or paraphrase followed by direct quotes as evidence for the broader interpretation made in the summary/paraphrase.A direct quote expresses the idea EXACTLY the way the author did. Use this technique when the way the author expresses the words is central to your analysis or point: