Documentation

When you use ideas, information, or quotations you have taken from research, you must tell the reader exactly where you found them. This is called documentation. There are different systems of documentation. The one we will use in this course is the Modern Language Association (MLA) system. Look at this example:

More Gambling, More Problems

        In the past in the United States gambling was only legal
        in Nevada. Now it is legal in Nevada and Atlantic City, New
        Jersey. In addition, many Native American tribes have
        casino gambling on their reservations. Most states also have
        lotteries, which are a type of gambling. The growth of
        gambling has been tremendous. In 1982 revenues from
        legal gambling in the United States were 10.4 billion dollars;
        in 1997 they were 50.9 billion dollars (Eadington). Nat-
        urally, with the growth of gambling, the number of people
        addicted to gambling has increased also. One study states
        "that 1.2 percent of the adult population, about 2.5 million
        people, are lifetime pathological gamblers" ("Commission," 83).
        Another disturbing fact is that, according to a Gallup Poll,
        teen gamblers are more likely to be hooked on gambling
        than adults (McLaughlin, 18). With a problem of this size,
        it is no surprise that there are organizations specialized in
        helping people overcome their gambling addiction (Gamblers).

Works Cited

        "Commission Finds Lack of Efforts to Treat Gambling
                Addiction." Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly
                28 June 1999: 83-85. Ebscohost. Web. 25 Sept. 2002.

       Eadington, William R. "Business and Industry Review." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2010. Web 15 Mar. 2010.
        Gamblers Anonymous International Service Office.Web
                 28 May 2002.
        McLaughlin, Abraham. "How Gambling Affects Skeptical
                Generation Y." The Christian Science Monitor
                18 June 1999: 18. Ebscohost. Web. 24 Sept. 2002.

Some Things to Notice:

Documentation consists of two parts: a brief mention in the writing itself, and the complete information about the source at the end. The information in the text (in parentheses) consists of the last name of the writer, or, if no writer is given, the first important word or two of the title of the article. Also put the page number in parentheses if you have one. The parenthetical information shows the reader where to look in the Works Cited list.

        Note: In parentheses, put the name of the writer of the article, not the name
        of someone referred to in the article. For example, if you use a quotation
        from someone named Smith that you find in an article by someone named
        Jones, put the name Jones in parentheses (because this is the name that will
        appear in the works cited list).

The Works Cited list is arranged in alphabetical order. Don't use numbers.
Begin the citation with the writer's last name. If you do not have the writer's name, begin with the title of the article. Put the title of the article in quotation marks.
After the title of the article, give the name of the publication, in other words, the name of the magazine or newspaper. The title of the publication is underlined.
Next, give the date of publication, if you have it. If two dates are given, the first is the date of publication, the second is the date the electronic source was accessed. If only one date is given, it is the date the source was accessed (compare the dates in the first two entries above).
After the date of publication give the medium, either Web or Print
If the information is from a special data base such as Ebscohost, name the database.

This may all seem very complicated but it is actually very much simplified. I have only shown you how to document three of the sources most often used by students in this class: Ebscohost, the Encyclopedia Britannica Online, and the internet. E-library should be documented like Ebscohost. For other sources you may use, such as books, magazine articles, academic journals, etc., ask me or check the MLA site below.

The details of documentation are endless; so remember the basic rule:
Document any idea, information or quotation, which is not obvious to the reader. Give the reader all the information he/she needs to find the source easily.

Link:

MLA Style: mla/indexl
Do it the easy way: http://www.easybib.com

03/15/2010