As you know, different fields of studies often have their own set of guidelines about how to format written work. This is particularly relevant to how one cites sources and organizes bibliographic material. In English and related disciplines in the Humanities, we generally follow the guidelines of the Modern Language Association (MLA). The most current version of the MLA’s guidelines is the Ninth Edition, and this is what we will be following for our Analytical Research Papers.
These guidelines are important in two main areas: citing sources in the body of your paper and providing a Works Cited list at the end of your essay. I am linking here to a resource from the University of North Carolina that provides very clear guidance about both of these.
How to Format a Works Cited Page
How to Include In-Text Citations
If you still have questions about any of this, please feel free to reach out to me. Remember that every time that you include information, ideas, or quotations that you encountered in one of your sources in the body of your paper, you need to include a parenthetical citation that tells the reader where the material came from. This could be the name of the author with the page number of the source (if applicable), just the name of the author, or (in cases where there is no author) the title of the article. Failure to cite your sources is a serious academic offense, so when in doubt, CITE YOUR SOURCE.