Mrs.

Rowe
Research

Rules for In-Text Documentation

You must use in-text documentation!!!
-- in-text documentation (also called citations) is showing WHERE your researched
information comes from
-- you must have at least 5 citations in your paper
-- you must cite from at least 3 different sources
--In-text citations are not just for quotations. They are used on any information that is not
common knowledge that you obtained from a source. Even if you put the information in
your own words, cite it!

CITATIONS:

1. If the there is an author, use authors last name and page number in parentheses.
Ex. (Smith 30). The period goes after the ( ). NOT BEFORE
2. If no author, use the first word of the title and the page number.
Ex. (Roman). or (Fashion 41).
**use the correct punctuation of the title. This will match up with the
first thing listed in your Works Cited entry.
**title of Internet articles and reference entry names are in quotes or
italicized.
3. If you have two sources with the same first word of the title, write everything up to the
next different word.
Example: Duke Ellington. American Biographies.
Duke Ellington. Contemporary Biography Encyclopedia.
The first would be (Duke Ellington American).
The second would be (Duke Ellington Contemporary).
4. NEVER write the entire source or web address in the ( ).
5. You may group information and cite after a few sentences (do not wait and cite once at
the end of the paragraph, but you dont need to cite after every sentence if they are all
from the same source!).
6. You must mix in your own sentences to help with flow and understanding. DO NOT just
copy everything word for word from the sources. If you copy something directly, use
quotation marks
7. It is better to have too many citations than not enough (PLAGIARISM!)
8. If you use the same source in a row, you do not need to repeat the name or first word
of title. Just put page number in ( ). Repeat name if starting a new paragraph.
9. Use Purdues Online Writing Lab as a quick reference for everything you ever
wanted to know about MLA format.
10. I will not accept a paper (even a rough draft) without in-text

documentation.

Writing the Body Paragraphs

Your first TWO body paragraphs will be the first point of your thesis statement. This
should be your first college, career, or branch of the military.

Your second TWO body paragraphs will be the second point of your thesis statement.
Your third TWO body paragraphs will be the third point of your thesis statement.
REMINDERS:
You need AT LEAST one citation per paragraph, but you should have more than
one in most cases. You are required to have AT LEAST 8 in-text citations in your

paper.
Topic sentences should introduce the college, career, or branch of the military
and the topic of that paragraph (wages, degree programs, skills, etc.). Use

transition words to make smooth transitions from one paragraph to the next.
Each paragraph should be approximately 6-7 sentences or MORE.
o each body paragraph needs in-text citations. see in-text citation
handout for examples on how to correctly use in-text citations. Remember

if you do not have correct in-text citations, you are plagiarizing!

If you use something directly from your sources it not only needs to be cited, it

needs to be in quotation marks.

Do not use contractions (ex: dont)
Spell out smaller numbers