Documentation of Sources
CITING YOUR SOURCES!
Does parenthetical notation have to
be used?
• You must always give credit to
the sources of your information
or you will be guilty of
plagiarism.
How do I decide when to document
information in my research paper?
• Any fact, quote, paraphrase or other
information that is not common
knowledge needs to be documented
with parenthetical notation.
• A quote is the exact wording of the source
material (either written or spoken). Quotes match
the original source word for word.
• A paraphrase is a detailed restatement in your
own words of a written or sometimes spoken
source material.
• A summary is a condensed version of a
passage. Similar to paraphrasing, summarizing
involves using your own words and writing style
to express another author's ideas. Unlike the
paraphrase, which presents important details, the
summary presents only the most important ideas
of the passage.
What is Parenthetical Notation?
Basically, parenthetical notation
is notes inside parentheses.
• Students use parenthetical
notation in the text of their
research papers to give credit
to authors for information that
is not common knowledge
What is “common knowledge”
• Common knowledge refers to the
information that most people would
know without doing research.
• Common knowledge can be a
“gray” area. If you are not sure if
information is common knowledge,
check with your teacher while you
are writing the paper.
Examples of common knowledge
• The earth revolves around the sun.
• George Washington was our first
president.
• Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s dad.
• Abraham Lincoln was president during
the Civil War.
• Plagiarism is wrong.
Examples of information that would
need to be documented.
• In the 1906 earthquake, 365,415
people were left homeless in San
Francisco.
• Delaware was the first state to ratify
the United States Constitution.
• Zithers and psalteries are stringed
instruments with shallow sound boxes.
What does parenthetical notation
look like?
• Most often, parenthetical notation
will consist of an author’s last name
and a page number, like this:
(Smith 21).
• Or the title of an article or web
site, like this:
• (“The Louisiana Purchase”) or
(The Louisiana Purchase)
90% of parenthetical notation
will fall into these two categories:
1) author’s last name and a page
number if a page is given
or
2)
The title of an article or web
site, if the author’s name is
unknown.
Where do I put parenthetical
notation?
• Parenthetical notation goes AFTER the
information that needs to be cited.
• If all information in one paragraph
came from one source and the same
page, then you only need to cite the
source once, at the end of the
paragraph.
• Cite all sources in a paragraph before
starting a new paragraph.
• Single author named in parentheses.
• The tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences is
referred to as a "purification process" whereby
"threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to
preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself
and one’s place in the world" (Sennett 11).
• Single author named in a signal phrase.
• Social historian Richard Sennett names the tendency to
come to terms with difficult experiences a "purification
process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are
warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image
of oneself and one’s place in the world" (11).
• Works with no author.
• Several critics of the concept of the transparent society ask
if a large society would be able to handle the complete
loss of privacy ("Surveillance Society" 115).
If giving a title, do I underline?
• If it is a newspaper or magazine
article, use quotation marks.
(“The 9/11 Tragedy” 32)
Include page number if given.
If it is the title of a web site, underline.
(The 9/11 Tragedy).
How else can I document my source?
• Example: According to Smith’s article
on the 9/11 tragedy, page 32, the FBI
had been informed of a growing threat
against American interests.
or
• Example: According to Smith, the FBI
knew about the threat (32).
What about the other types of
documentation that aren’t so simple?
• For more information on documenting
your sources, you would need to refer
to your teacher or the MLA Handbook
• MLA (Modern Language Association)
• Most high schools and colleges adhere
to the MLA guidelines for rules on
writing research papers