What are Parenthetical

Citations?

Acknowledging words, facts, or ideas from another source.

Why do we need parenthetical citations?

It is important to give credit to the sources you use. When you copy words and ideas that are not yours and use them without giving credit, it is called plagiarism.

How do I avoid plagiarism?

You can avoid plagiarism, which is a serious offense, by giving credit to your sources. People who plagiarize may receive a failing grade or even be expelled from school.

Doesn’t the “Works Cited”page give credit?

Yes, the Works Cited page at the end of your paper is important in giving credit to the sources you used. However, it doesn’t give your reader information on what exactly you used from each source or exactly where you found the material.

When must you give credit?

When you quote exact words

If you use the exact words of an author, you need to include them in “quotation marks.”

Give Credit

When you summarize facts and ideas from a source:

Summarizing means taking ideas from a larger passage and condensing them into your own words.

Give Credit

When you paraphrase:

If you use the ideas or opinions from someone else and restate them in your own words, you still need to cite the source.

When do you not have to cite a reference?

• If the information is well known

• If the information can be found in dictionaries

• Statistics and information that can be easily found in several sources and are not likely to vary from source to source

Citing sources when you have all the information

• The most common type of credit (citation) lists the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses.

 

In 1900, the worst hurricane in the United States history hit Galveston, Texas. “A storm surge almost two stories high broke over the city, causing 20- foot (6.1 meter) floods and more than 8,000 deaths” (Skelton 4).

  

• If you already name the author in your report, just include the page number in parentheses.

 In Hurricane Force, Michael Miles explains that cool air draws heat and moisture from warm bodies of water to form a storm (22).  

Citing sources when some of the information is missing

• Some sources do not list an author. In those cases, use the title and page number.

 The winds of a hurricane are most violent around the eye (“Hurricane Season” 7).

 • Some sources do not use page numbers. In those

cases, list just the author. 

Hurricanes in the Indian Ocean are called cyclones (Nealy). • If a source does not list the author or page number, use

the title. 

In Southeast Asia, they are called typhoons (“Big Wind”).  

Parenthetical citations should be:

• Brief

• Give only enough information to identify the source on your Works Cited page

Always check to make sure you give credit to your sources

A complete list of every source that you make reference to in your report. This provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited in your paper.

Include a Works Cited page:

• Quote• Summarize• Paraphrase

Use parenthetical citations

when you

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