parenthetical documentation

PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATIONHow to cite sources within your paper

ATTRIBUTION In order to avoid plagiarism, you must give

appropriate acknowledgement when repeating or paraphrasing another’s argument or presenting another’s line of thinking.

WHEN DOCUMENTATION IS NOT NEEDED: Familiar proverbs

“you can’t judge a book by its cover.” Well-known quotations

“We shall overcome” Common knowledge

George Washington is the first president of the United States.

At a red light, drivers come to a full stop.

WHAT GOES IN THE PARENTHESIS? Whatever appears first on your works cited

list: The author’s last name The corporate sponsor The shortened or full version of the title

PLUS, for printed material The page number The volume or number of the work if you are

using more than one

READABILITY Keep parenthetical documentation as brief—

and as few– as clarity and accuracy permit. Give only the information needed to identify the source. Do not sprinkle them in here and there just in case.

If you use the author’s name or identifying information in the sentence, you do not need to cite anything at the end. For example, “Booth has devoted an entire book to the

subject.” Unless you have two sources written by Booth,

you do not need to have anything in parenthesis at the end.

MORE ON READABILITY Say you have a book by Sheila Robertson

who said something you want to use on page 136…

2 options are…

It may be true, as Robertson maintains, that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is or primary importance…” (136).

It may be true that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is or primary importance…” (Robertson 136).

WEBSITES AND ELECTRONIC SOURCES Mitchell, William J. City of Bits: Space, Place,

and the Informationbahn. Cambridge: MIT P, 1995. MIT Press. 23 Sept. 2002 <http://mitpress2.mit.edu/ebooks>.

“Spinoff: Monsterpiece Theater.” Online posting. 30 Apr. 1994. Shakesper: The Global Electronic Shakespeare Conf. 23 Sept. 2002. <http://shakesper.net> .

What goes in the parenthesis at the end of the citation?

HERE ARE SOME OPTIONS: William J. Mitchell’s City of Bits discusses

architecture and urban life in the context of the digital communication revolution.

Joanne Merrian reported on a parody of Shakespeare performed by the Muppets (“Spinoff”).

OTHER EXAMPLES

For example, if quoting from Virginia Woolf’s essay “An Angel in the House,” you can give the full direct citation in the sentence, such as:

Virginia Woolf, in her essay “An Angel in the House,” admits that when she “came to write, there were very few material obstacles in [her] way.”

Or you can give a parenthetical citation:

“When I came to write, there were very few material obstacles in my way” (Woolf).

THE WORD, THATAn indirect citation of a paraphrase would look

like the following:

Virginia Woolf acknowledges in her essay “An Angel in the House” that other women have been writing for a time and most of the things that would distress a family and inhibit her writing have been removed for the woman author.

YOU HAVE AN ENTIRE PARAGRAPH FROM ONE SOURCE… If you have an entire paragraph from one

source, the easiest thing to do would be to give credit in the sentence by wording things correctly.

NOTE! College professors may ask you to cite the

PARAGRAPH numbers to which your websites appear.

If you have a printed out works cited page, we can highlight the information that should go in the parenthesis.

DRAFTING YOUR PAPERGet to it! Write the thing!

ORGANIZATION Use your outline, thesis, and graphic

organizer as a guide to writing to make sure you know where things go.

WRITING AN INTRODUCTION The introduction should set the tone of your

entire paper. What is this? Why am I reading it? What do you want me to do?

Set the context of the paper State why it is important State your thesis / research question—what

is it that you want to discover?

THE BODY PARAGRAPHS Should explore each topic you have declared

in your thesis. Each paragraph should help to explain your

thesis a little more

Should easily transition from one paragraph to the next

Should contain parenthetical documentation of both direct and indirect quotations

THE CONCLUSION Should re-state the thesis

Should

FOR MORE INFO… For more information see… http://

owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/728/01