PHIL110: Social/Political Philosophy

There are two things you need when citing something in a paper: an in-text citation and a bibliographic entry.  An in-text citation is the limited amount of information that your reader can use to look through your cited list/bibliography and find the full bibliographic entry so that she can access the cited work if necessary. 

In MLA, a basic in-text citation in an essay is made up of whatever comes first in the bibliographic entry (author's last name or the title of an anonymous work) and, if there are any, the page numbers where you found the quote or data or information (p. X for one page, pp. X-Y for multiple pages).  If there is no author, instead put the title or a shortened version of the title.  If you have multiple works by the same author in your bibliography, you should include the author's last name and a shortened version of the title.  For more information and examples, check out the MLA Style Center.

In-text citation for a source with page numbers:

If you are citing a book with the following bibliographic entry:

Diamond, Jared.  Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.  W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.

...then your in-text citation would look like this:

Diamond argues: "the striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (p. 405).​

OR

"The striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (Diamond, p. 405).

In-text citation for multiple books by the same author:

If, however, your bibliography has multiple works by Jared Diamond, or multiple works by two or more authors with the last name Diamond, your in-text citation should include a shortened version of the title:

"The striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (Diamond, Guns, p. 405).

In-text citations for sources without page numbers:

If, for example, you are citing a painting by Seurat, with the following bibliographic entry:

Seurat, Georges.  A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.  1884-86, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.  Georges Seurat: The Art of Vision, by Michelle Foa, Yale University Press, 2015, p. 64.

...then your in-text citation should look like:

Seurat also gives insight into how nineteenth-century Europeans utilized green spaces.

OR

Contemporary artwork shows that nineteenth-century Europeans enjoyed relaxing in green spaces (Seurat).

In-text citations for an anonymous work:

In-text citations utilize the first word of a bibliographic entry.  If a work is anonymous, then the first part of your bibliographic entry is the title.  So, if you have a bibliographic entry for this book:

The Táin.  Translated by Thomas Kinsella, brush drawings by Louis Le Brocquy, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1970.

...then your in-text citation would look like:

Another powerful woman in Irish legend is Crunniuc mac Agnomain's wife, who curses the men of Ulster to endure the labor pains of a mother in childbirth whenever Ulster is in peril (The Táin, pp. 6-8).

Plagiarism is when you intentionally or even unintentionally present someone else's original work as your own.  Since all research and study builds off the original work of others, it is therefore necessary for you to cite the works from which you are finding the words, ideas, and data for your research.  Proper use of citations protects you from engaging in plagiarism.

You therefore MUST cite things you get from sources, including:​

• Someone else's ideas​
• Quotations and paraphrases​
• Specific data, facts, and numbers from someone else's research​

You do not need to cite "general knowledge" like:​

• π (pi) is a number equaling 3.14159...​
• The Declaration of Independence was published on July 4, 1776​
• CCC stands for "City Colleges of Chicago"​
• Marilyn Monroe (a well-known figure) is considered beautiful​

WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE IT!

To properly cite something, you have to follow a citation style. The preferred citation styles for Philosophy Courses at Daley College are APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association).  The resources below can help you learn how to format your citations.

MLA identifies that there are up to nine core elements to look for when preparing a bibliographic citation for a source or work.  While you should try to fill in as many elements as you can, most sources will not have values for all nine elements; the only core element you always must have is #2 Title.  There are also two optional elements that you may decide to include for citing works of art, images, and websites.

The other key concept in MLA citations, other than core elements, is the concept of a source's container.  A container is a broader work in which the source is found.  Your source may have no container, or multiple containers!  For example, a one-off printed book by one author has no container, while an album is the container of a single song.

1. Author: The name(s) of the primary creator of the source.  If the author is a person, you put in the first and last name of the author, but if the author has only one name (like a handle), or if the author is an organization, then it is just one name.  If the author is unknown, start the citation with the title instead.  The author's name in a citation is almost always followed by a period.
2. Title: The full title of the source given by the author.  This is the only core element that you MUST have; if the source gives no title, put in your own short description to act as the title.  The main title is almost always followed by a period.  The exact formatting of the title can vary, but here's the general breakdown:
   • Italicized title: Italicize the title of books, journal titles, and formal given names of works of art.
   • "Title in Quotation Marks": Put the title of articles or chapters found in journals or articles in quotations.
   • Title in plain text: if the author gave the work no formal title, you must give it (or a museum may have already have given it) a short description as a title.  If so, this title is not written in italics or in quotation marks.
3. Title of container: If applicable, the title of the published work in which your source appears.  For example, an article's container is the book or journal in which it is published.
4. Contributor: If applicable, the names of people other than the author who took part in bringing you this source and how they contributed to it (for example, so-and-so translated the book).
5. Version: If you are not citing the original work or first edition, you need to note what edition you are citing.
6. Number: If your source is one in a sequence of sources, then you need to note the number in the sequence.  This is common for noting the volume and issue number of a journal or newspaper.
7. Publisher: The name of the institution that published the source.
8. Publication date: For something published, the date the publisher published the work.  For an unprinted work of art or image, the date or range of dates over which the work was produced.  If the item has a specific date, then format it day month abbreviated year (for example, 17 Nov. 2022).

*Medium (optional): If you are citing a work of art, you can if you want at this point put in the materials of the artwork (for example, oil on canvas or photograph).

9. Location: The place in which the source is found.  Examples include the museum in which a sculpture is displayed, the archives holding the manuscript, the page numbers in which the article appears in the journal, or the URL (ideally, a permalink or DOI) of the website.  Your source may have multiple locations; for example, if you are writing an entry for a digitized journal article, the locations would be the pages of the article AND the URL.  In MLA, a location is different than a container!

*Access date (optional): If you are citing a website (as opposed to a DOI or permalink) you can at this point put in the date on which you access the website.  This can be a good idea as websites (as opposed to DOIs or permalinks) can quickly change or be deleted.  Format the access date day month abbreviated year (for example, Accessed on 17 Nov. 2022).

The core elements can then be plugged in to make your citation in order, minus the core elements for which there were no answers.  For example, if your source only has core elements 1, 2, 7, and 8 (like many books), then your citation would just be:

#1 Author Last Name, First Name.  #2 Title.  #7 Publisher, #8 Date.

Foa, Michelle.  Georges Seurat: The Art of Vision.  Yale University Press, 2015.

If your work has a container, type in all the values that you have, #1-9, for the original source, and put a period; then, put in all the values you have for the container, #3-9 (see the examples below). The exact formatting for your citation, from what to italicize to where to put periods or commas, will depend on the type of resource for which you are making a citation (see the examples below). 

To look at examples or use a practice temple, check out the MLA Style Center website!

Let's go through a few practice examples!  What are the core elements for this basic book, and how would you turn them into a bibliographic citation?

1. Author: Diamond, Jared​

2. Title: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies​

3. Title of container: N/A​

4. Contributor: N/A​

5. Version: N/A​

6. Number: N/A​

7. Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company​

8. Publication date: 1997​

9. Location: N/A

Plug in those elements, and you have:

#1 Author's last name, first name.  #2 Book Title.  #7 Publisher, #8 Publication date.​

Diamond, Jared.  Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.  W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.

Let's try a more complicated book!

1. Author: Anonymous (skip it)​

2. Title: The Táin​

3. Title of container: N/A​

4. Contributors: translated by Thomas Kinsella, brush drawings by Louis Le Brocquy​

5. Version: 2nd ed.​

6. Number: N/A​

7. Publisher: Oxford University Press​

8. Publication date: 1970​

9. Location: N/A

Plug those in, and you have:

#2 Book Title.  #4 Contributed by contributors, #5 Version, #7 Publisher, #8 Publication date.​

The Táin.  Translated by Thomas Kinsella, brush drawings by Louis Le Brocquy, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1970.

Now, let's try an online news article: 

1. Author: Sudworth, John​

2. Title: “The faces from China's Uyghur detention camps."​

3. Title of container: BBC​

4. Contributor: N/A​

5. Version: N/A​

6. Number: N/A​

7. Publisher: N/A​

8. Publication date: May 2022​

9. Location: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/85qihtvw6e/the-faces-from-chinas-uyghur-detention-camps?utm_source=digg

• Access date: Accessed 15 Nov. 2022

#1 Author's last name, first name.  "#2 Title."  #3 Title of container, #8 Publication date, #9 Location. *Access date.​

Sudworth, John. “The faces from China's Uyghur detention camps.” BBC, May 2022,  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/85qihtvw6e/the-faces-from-chinas-uyghur-detention-camps?utm_source=digg.  Accessed 15 Nov. 2022.

Finally, let's try citing an academic journal article found from an online database.  This is tricky!  It involves two containers: the journal, and the online database:

Primary Work in First Container​

1. Author: Samatar, Sofia​

2. Title: “Toward a Planetary History of Afrofuturism”​

3. Title of container: Research in African Literatures (journal)​

4. Contributor: N/A​

5. Version: N/A​

6. Number: vol. 48, no. 4​

7. Publisher: N/A​

8. Publication date: 2017​

9. Location: pages 175-191/pp. 175-91

Second Container​

1. Author: N/A​

2. Title: N/A​

3. Title of second container: JSTOR (journal database)​

4. Contributor: N/A​

5. Version: N/A​

6. Number: N/A​

7. Publisher: N/A​

8. Publication date: N/A​

9. Location: https://doi.org/10.2979/reseafrilite.48.4.12​

• Access Date: Accessed 11 Nov. 2022

#1 Author's last name, first name.  "#2 Title."  #3 Title of first container, #6 Number, #8 Publication date, #9 Location.  #3 Title of second container, #9 Location of work in second container.  *Access date.​

Samatar, Sofia. “Toward a Planetary History of Afrofuturism.” Research in African Literatures, vol. 48, no. 4, 2017, pp. 175–91. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2979/reseafrilite.48.4.12. Accessed 11 Nov. 2022.

There are two things you need when citing something in a paper: an in-text citation and a bibliographic entry.  An in-text citation is the limited amount of information that your reader can use to look through your cited list/bibliography and find the full bibliographic entry so that she can access the cited work if necessary. 

In APA, a basic in-text citation in an essay is made up of the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number(s) where you found the quote, data, or information you are citing.  If, for example, your bibliography included the following book:

Diamond, J.  (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.  W. W. Norton & Company.

...then your in-text citation for this book would look like this:

Diamond (1997) argues: "the striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (p. 405).​

OR

"The striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (Diamond, 1997, p. 405).

If, however, you are citing multiple works by the same author from the same year, list them alphabetically in your bibliography by title, and then assign, a, b, c, etc. to the publication dates.  Include these letters in your in-text citation.  For example, if your bibliography included these two works:

Diamond, J. (1997a). Continental divides. Sciences, 37(2), 32-37.

Diamond, J. (1997b). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.  W. W. Norton & Company.

...then your in-text citation would look like this:

Diamond (1997b) argues: "the striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (p. 405).​

OR

"The striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (Diamond, 1997b, p. 405).

If you are citing a work with no page numbers, you can instead note the paragraph number (para. #) or leave out the page numbers element.  

For more information, on in-text citations, check out Purdue OWL.  If you need help preparing an in-text citation for a more complicated work, like a work by multiple authors or a work by an anonymous author, check out this other guide from Purdue OWL. 

A bibliographic citation is meant to give the reader all of the information she needs to find and access the source being cited.  When citing a website, that means including the web address, otherwise known as the URL or Uniform Resource Locator.  Citing websites can be tricky.  While many works on the internet are freely open to anyone, many others are only available to verified users with a login or users who pay to get access to something behind a paywall.  If you are citing a source that requires a login or is behind a paywall, you MUST use what is variously called a stable URL or permalink.  

One specific type of stable URL is a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), a URL which is permanently linked to that object.  Anyone making online content can register their content with the DOI organization.  DOIs all begin https://www.doi.org or https://doi.org

Finding a stable URL or DOI on JSTOR:

JSTOR is one of the best and most popular databases for finding academic journal articles.  When you search for and click on an article, look to the left side.  If need be, click on the info tab, and use either the DOI or Stable URL.

Finding a stable URL on EBSCO Academic Search Complete:

Academic Search Complete is another great and popular database for academic articles and books.  When you search for and click on an article or item, look for the Permalink option with the chain link icon at the bottom of the right-side menu.  Click on it, and a Permalink will appear above the title of the article, like in the image below.