Essay Writing

Internal Documentationa.k.a. in-text citation or parenthetical

citation

Set up a page for notes with these categories:

Why use internal documentation?

When do I document?What are the rules?Exceptions to the rules.How to cite web sources.

Why use internal documentation?

refers reader to works cited page

shows reader you did your research

makes you more credible and believable

What is this?

Example of internal documentation

Essay Works Cited

Que 1

Susie Que

Mrs. Harmon

English 8

13 April 20110

Crime in the U.S. Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in the United States (Barker 25).

Que 7

Works CitedBarker, Tim. Crime in the

United States. New York:

Harper Perennial, 1999.

Print.Jones, Sally. Books Are Great. Dallas: Real Cool Publishing, Inc., 2004. Print.

When do I document?

Always cite your source when you: quote an author directly put an author’s ideas in your own words summarize facts you found from research

If you do not cite, you are plagiarizingplagiarizing! Even if it’s in your own words, you have to give credit to the author for the ideas and facts you found; if you don’t, you are saying these ideas are your own, which is theft.

What are the rules?

Put internal documentation in (parenthesis) Put internal documentation at end of thought

- usually end of sentence- sometimes at end of phrase- include wherever it’s least distracting

Include the author’s name and page # unless:- you already mention author in sentence- author isn’t provided- page # isn’t provided (websites)

Add punctuation after internal documentationEx. Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in the United States

(Barker 25).

Rules: where to place it

Put internal documentation at end of thought

Ex.

Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in the United States (Barker 25).

usually at end of sentence

Rules: what punctuation to include

Put internal documentation in (parenthesis)

Ex.

Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in the United States (Barker 25).

parenthesis before and after

Rules: what to include

Include the author’s name and page #

Ex. Crime is rising in most metropolitan

areas in the United States (Barker 25). page # on which this

fact was foundauthor

Rules: where to place end punctuation

Add punctuation after internal documentation

Ex. Crime is rising in most metropolitan areas in the United

States (Barker 25).

period goes after internal documentation

Exceptions to the rules: author’s name in sentence

Including an expert’s name in sentence- gives you more credibility if you cite an expert

- only needed the first time you introduce this source

Barra, author of “Cultural Stumbling Blocks” states, “learning the language, which most foreign visitors consider their only barrier to understanding, is actually only the beginning” (25).

Fred Donner, law professor at Harvard University, stated, “capital punishment violates the Constitution of the U.S. in that it is discriminatory and is a form of cruel and unusual punishment” (16).

author

author

Don’t include author again

Don’t include author again

Exceptions to the rules:anonymous authors

In-text: The number of people who are becoming

vegetarians has been on the rise since the 1970s (“Trends in Eating Habits” 24).

Works cited: “Trends in Eating Habits.” Vegetarian Times

Mar. 2000: 20-25. Print.

Note: If you cite Vegetarian Times in your in-text citation rather than “Trends in Eating Habits,” readers will have a hard time locating the source in the works cited page. They would have been searching under “V” for Vegetarian Times instead of “T” for “Trends.” In addition, what if you use several articles from Vegetarian Times? How would readers know which one you mean?

Exceptions to the rules:more than one author

If there’s more than one author:- List all the last names of the authors in the same order as

you did in your works cited page (Franklin, Cardigan, and Davis 25).- List the last name of the first author listed in the works

cited page followed by et al. (Franklin et al. 25).

If there’s more than one source by the same author:

- also include the title or a shortened version of the title after the name and before the page number (Chaplan, “Homes” 3).

Other tricky situations

Two Authors with the Same Last Name: - include the first initial (L. Rivers 23).- if they share the same first initial, use the entire first name (Lucy Rivers 23).

Using Two Sources to Support a Statement: Include the last name and page number of the first author followed by a semicolon and the last name and page number of the second author.

- (Kipp 22; Randolph 3)- (Natl. Research Council 3-5; “Death” 2)

Indirect Source: someone’s published account of another’s spoken remarks.

- Greene claims that genetic engineering can be “a frightening concept when misunderstood” (qtd. in Lerner 45).

Note: Lerner is the author of the book where you found this quote. So, Lerner will appear in your works cited page, not Greene. If you only included the page number here, your reader would believe Greene was the author and would look for her name in the works cited page.

Citing an Entire Web Site

It is necessary to list your date of access because web postings are often updated, and information available on one date may no longer be available later. Be sure to include the complete address for the site.

Remember to use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is given.

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.

Citing a Page on a Web Site

For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by the information covered above for entire Web sites. Remember to use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is given.

"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.

Sample

Works Cited

"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. Rogerebert.com. Sun-Times News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009.

What do you notice in terms

of format

Exceptions to the rules:electronic sources

Websites don’t have page numbers, so substitute with:- paragraph #s- sections of the website (e.g. introduction)- screen #s

Examples:1. Paragraphs: “Sleep deprivation affects 1 out of 4 teens” (Barton, par. 5).2. Sections: “Sleep deprivation affects 1 out of 4 teens” (Barton, Introduction).3. Screens: “Sleep deprivation affects 1 out of 4 teens” (Barton, screens 2-3).