Research and Bibliography; Course Fall, 1999; SCHOLARLY JOURNALS in English Studies

Blending Reference Material into Your Writing

Excerpted from Chapter 7  of  Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide
Julie Cheng
 For general guidelines of in-text citation, punctuation and using ELLIPSES , please go to Dr. Connor's pages.
  1. Making a General Reference Without a Page Number

    2.  
    The women of Thomas Hardy's novels are the special focus of three essays by Nancy Norris, Judith Mitchell, and James Scott.

     
  2. Beginning with the Author and Ending with a Page Number

    3.  
    Herbert Norfleet states that the use of video games by children improves their hand and eye coordination (45).

     
  3. Putting the Page Number Immediately After the Name

    4. Note: Sometimes this is a more expeditious way.
     
    Boughman (46) urges carmakers to "direct the force of automotive airbags upward against the windshield"(emphasis added).
  4. Putting the Name and Page Number at the End of Borrowed Material
 
"Each DNA strand provides the pattern of bases for a mew strand to form, resulting in two complete molecules" (Justice, Moody, and Graves 462).

Note: In the case of a paraphrase, you should show when the borrow begins:
 

One source explains thatthe DNA in the chromosomes must be copied perfectly during cell reproduction (Justice, Moody, and Graves).
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Note: Cite the title of an article, the name of the magazine, the name of a bulletin or book, or the name of the publishing organization. Search for the author's name at the bottom of the opening page and at the end of the article.
  1. Citing the Title of a Magazine Article

    2.  
    Articles about the unusual names of towns, such as Peculiar, Missouri; Kinmundy, Illinois; and Frostproof, Florida, are a regular feature of one national magzine ("Name-Dropping" 63).
Note: The work Cited entry would read: "Name ¡V Dropping." County June/July 1994: 63.   Shorten magazine title to a key word for the citation, but give the full title in the Works Cited entry.
  1. Citing the Title of a Report

    2.  

     
     
     

    One bank showed a significant decline in assets despite an increase in its number of depositors (Annual Report 23).
  2. Citing the Name of a Publisher or a Corporate Body
 
The report by the school board endorsed the use of Channel One in the school system and said that "students will benefit by the news reports more than they will be adversely affected by the advertising" (Clarion County School Board 3-4).
Note: Since there is no page number, omit the parenthetical citation.  Instead, introduce the type of source.  
Mrs. Peggy Meacham said in her phone interview that prejudice against younger black women is not as severe as that against young black males.
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Establishing the Credibility of the Source Note: Internet sources can be troublesome.  The following examples might be introduced in these ways to verify their validity:  
The UCLA Center for Communication Policy, which conducted an intensive study of television violence during 1995, has advised against making the television industry the "scapegoat for violence" by advocating a focus on "deadlier and more significant causes: inadequeate parenting, drugs, underclass rage, unemployment and availability of weaponry" (UCLA Television Violence Report 1996).

 
John Armstrong, a spokesperson for Public Electronic Access to Knowledge (PEAK), states: As we venture into this age of biotechnology, many people predict gene manipulation will be a powerful tool for improving the quality of life. They foresee plants engineered to resist pests, animals designed to produce large quantities of rare medicinals, and humans treated by gene therapy to relieve suffering.
  Note: If you are not certain about the credibility of a source, do not cite it or describe the source so that readers can make their own judgments:  
An Iowa non-profit organization, the Mothers for Natural Law, says--but offers no proof--that eight major crops are affected by genetically engineered organisms¡Xcanola, corn, cotton, dairy products, potatoes, soybeans, tomatoes, and yellow crook-neck squash ("What's on the Market").
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Note: In the parenthetical citation, put the name of the author of the article you quote instead of the speaker's name: e.g. (qtd. in Peterson 9A).

Note: You need a double reference that introduces the speaker and includes a clear reference to the book or article where you found the quotation or the paraphrased material. Cite the original source if at all possible.

Note:
  1. It is not necessary to repeat the author's name in every instance; a specific page reference is adequate, or you can provide act, scene, and line if appropriate.
  2. If you are citing from two or more novels in your paper, provide both titles (abbreviated) and page(s) unless the reference is clear.
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Note: Cite the author and page in the text and put a comprehensive entry in the work cited list. If you quote more than one author in the book, you can make in-text citation to name and page, but your works cited entries can be shortened by cross references.
  1. Text

    2.  
    In "the Skaters" John Gould Fletcher compares "the Grinding click" of ice skates to "the brushing together of thin wing-tips of silver" (814).

    Bibliography Entry:

    Fletcher, John Gould. "The Skaters."  Patterns in Literature. Ed. Edmund J. Farrell, Ouida H. Clapp, and Karen Kuehner. Glenview: Scott, 1991. 814.
     

  2. In the Text

    3.  
    In "The Skater" John Could Fletcher compares "the grinding click of ice skates to "the brushing together of thin wing-tips of silver" (814). The use of metaphor is central to his poetic efforts. One source emphasizes Flecher's use of metaphor, especially his comparison of  "the silhouettes of a group of Metaphor give us a fresh look, as when Lew Sarett in his "requiem for a Modern Coresus" uses coins to make his ironic ststement about the wealthy king of sixth century Lydia: To him the moon was a silver dollar, spurn Into the sky by some mysterious hand; the sun Was a gleaming golden coin - -

    His to purloin

     The freshly minted stars were dimes of delight Flung out upon the counter of the night.

    In yonder room he lies,

    With pennies in his eyes. (814)
Note: Suppose you also cite a portion of Dickens's novel, Great Expectations, from the same anthology. Your Works Cited page will require four entries.

Bibliography Entries:

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Farrell et al. 675-785.

Farrell, Edmund J., Ouida H. Clapp, and Karen Kuehner, eds.  Patterns in Literature. Glenview: Scott, 1991.

Fletcher, John Gould. ¡§The Skaters.¡¨Farrell et al. 814.

Sarett, Lew. ¡§Requiem for a Modern Croesus.¡¨Farrell et al. 814.

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  • Adding Extra Information to In-Text Citations
    •  Note: Your reader may have a different anthology than yours, so a clear reference will enable the reader to locate the passage. The same is true with a reference to "(Romeo and Juliet 2.3.65-68)."
      Note: (1) An Abbreviation for the title (2) The volume used, and (3) the page number(s).
       
      Joseph Campbell suggests that man is a slave yet also the master of all the gods (Masks 1:472).

       
    1. Two or More Works by the Same Writer

      2.  

       

      Note: Two novels are both abbreviated: e.g. (Tess xxii; Mayor 1).
       

    2. Several Authors in One Citation

      3.  

       

      Note: Put them in alphabetical order to match of the Works Cited page, or place them in the order of importance to the issue at hand. e.g. (Robertson 98-134; Rollins 34; Templass 561-65).
       
       

    3. Additional Information with the Page Number
     
    Horton (22, n.3) suggests that Melville forced the symbolism, but Welston (199-248, esp. 234) reaches an opposite conclusion.
    Note: Classical prose works may appear in two or more edition. Provide extra information to chapter, section, or part so that readers can locate a quotation in any edition of the work. Homer takes great efforts in describing the shield of Archilles (18:558-709).
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    Note: Set off long prose quotations of four lines or more by indenting one inch or 10 spaces with Courier font. Do not use quotation marks with the indented material. If you quote only one paragraph or the beginning of one, do not indent the first line an extra five spaces. Double space between your text and the quoted materials. Place the parenthetical citation after the final mark of punctuation. If you quote more than one paragraph, indent all paragraphs an extra three spaces in Courier font or a quarter inch in other fonts. If the first sentence quoted does not begin a paragraph in the original source do not indent it an extra three spaces. Note: Restrictive connectors, such as that or because, create restrictive clauses and eliminate a need for the comma. Without a comma, the capital letter is unnecessary.
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    1. Comment the follows the quotation

      2.  

       

      Note: Use parentheses to enclose comments or explanations that immediately follow a quotation.
       

      Boughman (46) urges carmakers to "direct the force of automotive airbags upward against the windshield¡¨(emphasis added).

       
    2. Comment that goes inside the quotation
    Note: Use brackets for interpolation. The use of brackets signals the insertion.
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