MLA Background Research Paper: Noting a citation in the text?
I need to write a background research paper on a science fair experiment, but it needs to be formatted in MLA. I looked up some examples of a MLA essay and research paper but there seems to be something that bothers me. At the end of some bit of information or a sentence there seems to be a small word in parenthesis.
Example
Batteries don't perform as well in low temperatures.(Best Batteries 71) <-----!!!
I saw this in most of the references I found. There seems to be a similarly worded citation at the end of the paper so I assume that it is telling the reader where the information before the parenthesis came from, but I do not know for sure. If I am correct then is it alright(or uncommon)to cite definitions and how should I note the definition at the end of the sentence? I am not sure about anything because this is my first time writing a MLA formatted paper. I hope you can help me a bit.
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1 answer
You have understood correctly. From the Purdue Online Writing Lab:
In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what is known as parenthetical citation. This method involves placing relevant source information in parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase.
They give an example:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:
Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford UP, 1967.
MLA has an extensive system for providing citations that are clear and well-defined; you really need to dig into the details and get a better sense of what's expected of you.
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