LibGuides: English 10: Foundations of Literary Studies (Gao/Omeiza): 5. Organize, Write & Cite

Step 5 - Organize, Write, & Cite - Why do we cite?

Organizing your research can help make the writing and citing process easier. Use tips from this page to guide you in this step.

Why do we cite? Several reasons!

It makes us look good. Seriously, it's ethical and responsible to help readers differentiate our ideas from those we are using from others.
It helps us point our readers to our sources where they can more deeply engage with the scholarly conversation.
It helps us to learn how to communicate formally within our discipline/major.
We avoid plagiarism by quoting the words or paraphrasing ideas of other scholars.

Organize Your Research & Avoid Plagiarism (infographic)

Organizing Your Research

How to Avoid Plagiarism

Give proper credit to those whose ideas you are borrowing in your own work through citation.
One great way to track where you get your ideas is to take good notes during your research process.

Ways to Take Notes During the Research Process

Table showing suggestions for staying organized during your research process
Analog Options	Digital Options
Notecards	Spreadsheet
A Research Journal	Citation Management Software Some popular ones are Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote (Web).

Tips

Highlight useful search words and subject headings
Keep track of where you found your sources in case you or another researcher needs to go back to verify the information you cite. This can also help you be efficient by avoiding repeating the same searches.

Long description of "Organize Your Research" for Web Accessibility

Writing Resources

MLA Formatting Guides & Examples

MLA Handbook, 9th ed. by The Modern Language Association of America "The ninth edition of the MLA Handbook is a textbook and reference guide that offers student writers and writing instructors guidance on creating works-cited-list entries in MLA style using the template of core elements. It features advice on punctuation, grammar, inclusive language, formatting research papers, and in-text citations. Includes an appendix of sample works-cited-list entries, illustrations, and an index"-- Provided by publisher. Contents Formatting your research project -- Mechanics of prose -- Principles of inclusive language -- Documenting sources : an overview -- The list of works cited -- Citing sources in the text -- Notes -- Appendix 1. Abbreviations -- Appendix 2. Works-cited-list entries by publication format.
Call Number: LB2369 .M52 2021 (Course Resources, 2nd Floor Services Desk)
Publication Date: 2021

MLA Examples

These examples, using MLA 8th ed., illustrate the order of information you should include and do not include hanging indents or double spacing. To see sample references on a Works Cited page, view the MLA Sample Paper at Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).

Step 5 - Pause to Reflect

Pause to Reflect

First of all, congratulations on making it this far! You may still have some loose ends to tie up, and that is OK. Take a moment to think back through your research process. Did you learn any helpful tips along the way? Are there new strategies that you can use for future projects or papers?

Do you still need more information? You can go back to previous steps at any time to revisit your research question or look for more or different sources of information.

If you think you missed something, please feel free to reach out to a Research Librarian:

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English 10: Foundations of Literary Studies (Gao/Omeiza)

Citation Management Tools

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