You will use MLA citations for assignments in an English class. On this page you will find several useful citation guides as well as videos to help you correctly use and construct citations.
Citations Guides
A good citation guide is the best tool to use when writing citations. Below are a few recommended citation guides.
The Purdue OWL MLA guide should "help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA eighth edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations."
Other Butte College Library citation guides including APA and Chicago.
How to Introduce and Use Citations in Your Paper
It can be challenging to use citations in your paper. How should you introduce your sources? What and when do you need to cite? When should you paraphrase, summarize, or use a direct quotation? What do those terms even mean?
Here are some things to consider when using resources in your writing.
Establish what does and does not need to be cited. In general, common knowledge does not need to be cited. This includes information in encyclopedias or dictionaries, facts and biographical information about well known people, and dates and major information about historical events. If you are unsure if the information is common knowledge, err on the side of caution and cite your source.
Learn what constitutes plagiarism. The short video in the right hand column will help. There are many different ways you can plagiarize information. In order to avoid plagiarism, cite your source any time you summarize, paraphrase, or directly quote from something.
Always introduce your sources so they are clear to your reader. Use words and phrases such as according to, states, suggests, argues, claims, etc. An example might be the following: Librarian Jean Ping suggests that a citation guide always be used for reference when writing citations (22).