Although an umbrella may provide shade, it doesn’t cover
every area on the beach. It’s similarly difficult to cover every aspect of MLA
citation in a simple reference. The current edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers adds up to 292 pages
in its entirety, and it covers a wide range of research topics. However, it is
possible to account for the most common kinds of sources you might encounter in
an essay.
In addition to citing books, newspapers, journals, and web
sources, you may eventually need to cite a personal interview. This includes
face-to-face interviews as well as phone interviews. When citing an interview
in-text, you would only need to cite the last name of the person you
interviewed in parentheses. In the Works Cited page, you must include the name
of the person you spoke to, the fact that it’s a personal interview, and the
date the interview took place. For instance:
Smith, John. Personal interview. 1
April 2014.
If the interview was conducted by phone, you would need to
cite it as ‘Telephone interview’ instead. MLA expects this information for the
purpose of accuracy and completeness. While telephone interviews are not common
in college writing, personal interviews are sometimes required for assignments.
Another possible source you may have to eventually cite is a
movie. Sometimes you will need to analyze film, much as you might interpret a
novel or a poem. At other times, you may be asked to contrast historical events
with a Hollywood film. In those cases, you would cite the film under MLA rules.
When citing a film in a Works Cited, you would only need the
following information: the title (in italics), the film’s director, the
distributor, the year of release, and the medium of publication. You may also include
the names of the lead actors, the screenwriter, or the producer if they’re
available and relevant. A typical film citation might look like this:
Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013. Film.
The medium will depend on the specific source you used:
Film, DVD, Blu-Ray, Slide program, or Filmstrip. However, you must include
other information if you viewed the film on a streaming website such as
Netflix. When citing a movie published online, include the name of the website
(in italics), list “Web” as medium of publication, and include the date of
access. The citation would then include the following:
Gravity. Dir.
Alfonso Cuaron. Perf. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.
Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013. Netflix. Web. 14 April 2014.
Finally, when citing a movie in the body of your essay, it
is preferable to do so without a parenthetical citation. Cite the film in
italics as you discuss it, but make sure you include the film’s name in your
sentences as you paraphrase what takes place.
See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the
waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!
No comments:
Post a Comment