Works Cited
About Works Cited
A works cited page is an alphabetized and formatted list of all the works referenced in a piece of writing. Whenever a writer uses the ideas of another author, he/she must give credit to the author within the text (parenthetical documentation) and in a reference list, such as a Works Cited page. Unless the information used is common knowledge, failure to cite sources is considered plagiarism and is a serious offense with significant disciplinary consequences. All references must be documented with citations to give credit when you quote from any source. These citations are also required whenever you present ideas or facts from other sources in your own words (paraphrasing).
A Works Cited page is similar to a Bibliography, but lists only the works explicitly referenced within the text. A Bibliography includes all the works used, whether they are cited in the text or not. Sometimes a writer includes both a Works Cited page and a Works Consulted page to distinguish between those cited and those used, but not cited.
MLA Citation Style
Citation Resources
Citation Building Tools
Use these tools to format your reference list citations in APA,
MLA, or Chicago styles. Check the accuracy of these citations
(e.g., capitalization, indentation, etc.) using the Works Cited
Booklet.
Citing a Book:
Author (last), Author (first). Title. City of Publication:
Publisher, Copyright Date. Medium.
Milne, A A. Winnie The Pooh. New York: Penguin Group US,
2009. N. pag. Print.
Citing a Web Page:
Author. "Title." Site Sponsor or Internet Site, Date of posting or last updated. Medium. Date of access. <URL address>
Morse, Sarah. "Female Pedagogy." Morse Homepage, 25 May 2008. Web. 3 August 2009. <http://www.morsefamily.com>.
Citing an Entire Website:
Editor, author, or compiler name (if given). Name of Site. Date of posting or latest update. Name of sponsoring organization, Medium. Date of access. <URL address>.
House, Harold. Building Green Homes. 4 June 2008. Green Living, Web. 30 April 2009. <http://greenliving.org>.
Resource Credibility
There are six ways you can tell if your website is credible.
It can be challenging to determine whether a website you’re using is credible, but here are a few things to look for:
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Author – Information on the internet with a listed author is one indication of a credible site. The fact that the author is willing to stand behind the information presented (and in some cases, include his or her contact information) is a good indication that the information is reliable. Take a moment to see if the author affiliated with a university or another institution. What else has the author written? Considering these things will give you further insight into the authors credibility credibility.
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Date – The date of any research information is important, including information found on the Internet. In some disciplines (for example, the sciences, technology, etc.) material can become outdated very swiftly. You should search for additional texts on the topic to find related sources, sources in which this source is cited, and sources that cite this source in order to get a stronger picture of the work's intellectual relevance and value.
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Sources – If the audience is intended to be a scholarly audience, the work should include a clear bibliography .Credible websites, books and scholarly articles, should cite the source of the information presented. If the work is from a peer-reviewed scholarly journal (i.e. an article that is evaluated by other experts in the field) or published by a university press, professional society, or scientific publisher (all of which also operate peer-review processes), then the texts will have scholarly credibility.
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Domain – Some domains such as .com, .org, and .net can be purchased and used by any individual. However, the domain .edu is reserved for colleges and universities, while .gov denotes a government website. These two are usually credible sources for information
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Site Design – This can be very subjective, but a well-designed site can be an indication of more reliable information. Good design helps make information more easily accessible.
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Writing Style – Poor spelling and grammar are an indication that the site may not be credible. In an effort to make the information presented easy to understand, credible sites watch writing style closely.
Tips: Don't trust all information just because you see a .edu or .org domain.
Occasionally a university will assign a .edu address to each of its students for personal use, in which case use caution when citing).
Be careful with the domain .org, because .org is usually used by non-profit organizations which may have an agenda of persuasion rather than education.