In your ACCESS classes, you are required to use MLA (Modern Language Association) format to cite sources.

Anytime you use information from a source, you must cite! If you do not cite the information, it is considered plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious intellectual offense. Read Purdue OWL: Plagiarism for more information.

There are two ways you are required to cite sources in your ACCESS work: inserting in-text citations within your work and creating a works cited to go at the end of your work.

In-text citations are needed throughout your work every time you use a source. In-text citations are required for all images, direct quotes, and paraphrases. In-text citation information is similar for all sources: immediately following the source information, place the first item that appears in the works cited (usually the author's last name or title of the work) in parentheses followed by the page number, if given. Refer to Purdue OWL: MLA In-Text Citations for more information.

The Works Cited page is found at the end of your work. It is an alphabetical list of all the sources you used. You can use one of the following online tools to help create a Works Cited page:
Citation Machine
EasyBib

Below are four sources you may need to cite. If you need one that is not listed, refer to Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide for a complete list of MLA citations.

Alabama Virtual Library Databases (AVL)

  • Author's name, if given: Last, First followed by a period
  • Name of article in quotation marks OR title of book italicized followed by a period
  • Name of periodical in italics, if applicable
  • Publication information followed by period (date, issue for periodicals, OR city: publisher, date for books)
  • Database name in italics followed by a period
  • Company or Organization associated with database followed by a period (EBSCO, Gale)
  • The word Web followed by a period
  • The date of access (day, month, year) followed by a period

Works Cited Example

O'Connor, David K. "The Life of Socrates." First Things: A Monthly Journal of         Religion and Public Life June 2001: 29. InfoTrac One File. Gale. Web. 30 April         2014.

"Two Approaches to Cloning." New York Times 19 Jan. 2002: 18. Newspaper Source.         EBSCO. Web. 30 April 2014.

In-Text Citation Example

According to "The Life of Socrates," Socrates "was a man of neither wealth nor personal beauty, the butt of comedians of the day for his bulging eyes and swaggering gait" (O'Connor).

Website

Follow the Purdue OWL guidelines and examples at MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications) to cite online journal articles, newspapers, magazines, databases, entire web sites, etc.

Example

"Health Information for Individuals and Families." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014, www.health.gov. Accessed May 2014.

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 30 Apr. 2014.

For more examples, refer to the Purdue OWL guidelines at MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web Publications).

In-Text Citation Example

Students who follow the MLA guidelines will build their reputations as credible writers (The Purdue OWL Family of Sites).

E-Books 
The formats below are for downloadable books read on an ebook reader, such as Kindle, iPad, or Nook.

  • Author's name, if given: Last, First followed by a period
  • Name of book in italics
  • Publication information followed by a period (city: publisher, date for books)
  • Electronic reader followed by ebook file or digital file

Example

Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Harper Collins, 2011. Kindle ebook file.

In-Text Citation Example

In the novel Divergent, the main character Tris states, "I am proud. It will get me into trouble someday, but today it makes me brave" (Roth, 57).

ACCESS (Information from a lesson)

  • Author's name, if given: Last, First followed by a period
  • Title of lesson in quotation marks followed by the word ACCESS
  • Year of publication, if available (type "n.d." if there is no date)
  • The word Web followed by a period.
  • The date of access (day, month, year) followed by a period
  • The main site's URL enclosed with angle brackets and followed by a period

Example

"The Pardoner's Tale" ACCESS n.d. Web. 22 April 2014.         <http://access.desire2learn.com/>.

In-Text Citation Example

**Include the word ACCESS in place of a page number**

Death is personified in "The Pardoner's Tale" because he participates in the story by talking, walking, and communicating with others ("The Pardoner's Tale," ACCESS).