1. Always ask a reference librarian what kind of source you have found in SIRS, OVID, or elsewhere so that you know which model to use for the Works Cited page. Librarians have more information about this than any teacher has.
2. Works Cited Documentation for SIRS:
SIRS Researcher. SIRS Mandarin,
Inc. Spring 2000.
SIRS Government Researcher. SIRS Mandarin, Inc. Fall 1999.
3. Works Cited Documentation for OVID:
OVID. Online. [download
date goes here].
4. Any other online database like Wilson Web will work similarly to OVID. See me.
5. Xeroxing sources:
a. Always get the full text of the magazine,
journal, or newspaper article. You may not work with a partial article
or abstract of the article.
b. For any book containing articles or chapters
by separate authors, you should get the whole chapter or article AND both
sides of the title page.
c. For any book written by one or several authors
(this group wrote the whole book), then xerox any pages that you summarize
or quote from AND both sides of the title page.
d. Always print out the whole section that you
intend to use from an Internet site. Look for author, titles (major
and minor), date when the web site was last updated, web address, and your
download date. The most credible sources are the ones that have all
or most of this information. Avoid sources for which you know nothing
of the credibility of the author of the site. Look for and print
out evidence of source credibility. If you get sources from university
sites, make sure that the source is not written by a student.
6. In-Text Documentation:
a. Check to make sure that there is a Works Cited
entry for each source used in text.
b. Check to make sure that the author’s last
name or the key word from the title matches the Works Cited entry.
c. Match sources with MLA documentation models:
one author with a one author model; 2 authors with a 2-author model; 2+
articles written by the same author with a matching model; etc. It
is your job to be thorough and know the models in LBH. Don’t guess
or use a non-matching model. Ask about that which you do not understand.
d. Check the SIRS and OVID models given to you
above. Follow those models for giving credit to those source types.
e. Remember that SIRS, OVID (or other online
databases, like Wilson Web), and Internet sources do not have page numbers.
Use paragraph numbers. Follow the model in LBH, p. 602, #5.
f. Look at the example research paper, pp. 636-660.
Use it as a visual example for formatting block quotes (40+ words), in-text
documentation, introducing quotes, and typing the Works Cited page.
g. See p. 594 for examples of how to introduce
quotes, and remember to include names and credentials of experts to increase
your own credibility.
7. Sources:
a. Hold to the no more than two rule for
source gathering:
8. Editing:
a. Second person “you” is not acceptable in formal
academic writing. Don’t use it. Instead name the group or person
that your paper is talking about.
b. Using “I” or “me” is acceptable if you are
using a personal experience as an example; however, do not overuse it.
Also, avoid “in my opinion,” “I believe,” etc.
c. Review punctuation rules in LBH. Pay
attention to which errors you are making; clear them up.
d. There are a number of major errors that will
cost you a good number of points. Review the following; make sure
that you know what these are.
9. Typing:
a. Follow the typing guidelines given on p. 762
LBH for all major papers except the Annotated Bibliography.
b. The Annotated Bibliography and journals are
single-spaced.