DOCUMENTATION
Want to make your teacher scream????
If you do not document your paper, it is a plagarized paper. It will result in screaming teachers, no credit for you on papers, and possibly worse consequences! Why? Because plagarism is a crime! Documenting a paper means giving credit to the person who wrote the information in the first place. If you don't document, you are stealing the work from its original author. You may hear the words "cite" or "citing" for documentation of a paper, but it means the same thing. In your paper, you will most likely use parentheticals to point your reader to the listing on your works cited page that gives the full information about where you got the information stated in your paper. Papers with no parentheticals are plagarized! So are papers with no works cited page connected! Use the information below to figure out how to do both.
EasyBib.com
Still need help? I am posting my information below, but I want to warn you that the proper formatting for documentation depends upon which form your teacher wants you to use. The BHS English department uses MLA. Also, formatting for documentation tends to be constantly updated. While the info. below will explain to you the basics of writing citations, they are probably not the most updated form. I recommend that for each source you go to a citation website such as EasyBib.com and put in the CORRECT information for each source. It will give you the correct (and the latest) form for the citation, and you can set it to do any format that your particular teacher wants. There are other cites that do this also. Remember that if you searched on Ebsco Host, it will give you the citation if you tell it to. So will some websites like Biography.com and CareerSearch.com. Always look for the option "cite this" on any online source just in case it has a tool to make your life easier.
Bibliography Cards
As soon as you find a source, use EasyBib to put the information together properly, and then copy the information onto bibliography cards. These cards should look like the ones below. Hint: If you type your cards, you can copy and paste them later onto your works cited page.
creating_bibliography_cards.docx | |
File Size: | 11 kb |
File Type: | docx |
secondary_teacher_bib_cards.ppt | |
File Size: | 28 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
Works Cited
This is a detailed list of the correct information about your sources. Look at your bibliiography cards and put them in alphabetical order (yes, it is important!) by the first word of the documentation. Then list them. Put the words "Works Cited" on the top of the page. Use a reverse indent with each source (this means the first line is long, and all other lines on a source should be equally indented beneath the first. SIngle space within each source citation, but double space between them. COPY AND PASTE YOUR ENTIRE WORKS CITED PAGE TO THE END OF YOUR PAPER BEFORE YOU SUBMIT IT!
creating_a_works_cited_page.docx | |
File Size: | 11 kb |
File Type: | docx |
how_to_create_a_works_cited_page.doc | |
File Size: | 20 kb |
File Type: | doc |
internal_documentation.doc | |
File Size: | 25 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Parentheticals (this is how you document the information you found from a source within your paper)
Look at the first word or words listed on each citation on your works cited page. Usually it is the last name of the author. If you don't have an author, it may be an article title. In parenthesis, write the last name of an author or the first few words in the article title (depending on what you have---if you have the author's last name ALWAYS use that). Then list the page number on which the information was found. If it is an online source it may not have page numbers which is fine. When you write a parenthetical it should look like this:
(Jackson 34) or ("Becoming an Artist" 6) or (Matthison)
-----When you write your notecards, be smart enough to write this parenthetical for that piece of information on the card. That way you don't have to go back and search for the page number later or wonder which source the information came from.
------When you write your paper, tag these parentheticals onto the ends of the sentences when you use a card. Put the parenthetical BEFORE the period on the end of the sentence so it is easy for the reader to tell which sentence it refers to. If you have used a direct quote, close the quotation marks, add the parenthetical, and then put the period. Make it look like this:
1. "Queen Elizabeth I's speech at Tilbury gives modern readers a sense of historical context of the attack of the Spanish Armada in 1588" (Melroy 82).
2. The speech that Queen Elizabeth I gave at Tilbury helps to show the historical sicnificance of the 1588 attack by the Spanish Armada (Melroy 82).
3. Shakespeare was an man of theatre in three senses. He was an actor, director, and writer ("A Day With Shakespeare" 6)
(Jackson 34) or ("Becoming an Artist" 6) or (Matthison)
-----When you write your notecards, be smart enough to write this parenthetical for that piece of information on the card. That way you don't have to go back and search for the page number later or wonder which source the information came from.
------When you write your paper, tag these parentheticals onto the ends of the sentences when you use a card. Put the parenthetical BEFORE the period on the end of the sentence so it is easy for the reader to tell which sentence it refers to. If you have used a direct quote, close the quotation marks, add the parenthetical, and then put the period. Make it look like this:
1. "Queen Elizabeth I's speech at Tilbury gives modern readers a sense of historical context of the attack of the Spanish Armada in 1588" (Melroy 82).
2. The speech that Queen Elizabeth I gave at Tilbury helps to show the historical sicnificance of the 1588 attack by the Spanish Armada (Melroy 82).
3. Shakespeare was an man of theatre in three senses. He was an actor, director, and writer ("A Day With Shakespeare" 6)