PARENTHETICAL
DOCUMENTATION & ENDNOTES/FOOTNOTES
Helen
Temple Cooke Library
Dana Hall School
August 2002
The citation format standard at Dana Hall
is the format of the Modern Language Association of America, usually called MLA
style. For
more information about MLA style, consult the MLA handbook (Gibaldi,
Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: The Modern Language Association of America,
1999.) Although the MLA handbook
suggests use of parenthetical references, it also includes examples of
endnotes/footnotes. Both types of
citations, based on the MLA handbook, are described below.
A. PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION
Parenthetical
references are just what they sound like—references that are in parentheses!
Generally, when you refer to works cited, you should include: Author and
page #(s). You can put the name(s)
of the author(s) in either the text or in the parenthetical reference:
Some
researchers, like Smith (333), think that the object is a supernova.
or
Some
researchers think that the object is a supernova (Smith 333-4).
References are
less disruptive to your readers if they are at the end of a sentence or phrase.
You should place them before the punctuation mark (although they should be after
a quotation mark, if you are referring to a direct quote):
Sparks argued
that “this incredible sight in the sky will never return” (333).
You need not
include page numbers if you are citing the entire work or the work is just one
page long. You should include the
volume number if you’ve used more than one volume and included all volumes in
your works cited list:
Hones
maintained that the bright light was artificially created
(2: 8-9).
You can use
screen or paragraph numbers instead of page numbers for electronic sources or
other works that are not paginated (note that for electronic sources such
references are approximate, due to variations in screen sizes):
NASA
scientists denied the possibility of government activity (Miller, screen 3).
If a work does
not have an author, your parenthetical reference should include the full title
or a shortened version of the title. Start
the reference with the first word of the title so readers can easily find the
reference in the works cited list:
Many
researchers were puzzled by the NASA denial (“Supernova” 12).
If you cite two
works by the same author, either include the title in the text or add a
shortened title to the reference:
Others think
that it was a natural phenomenon (Blacker, Super
Hoaxes 62).
If you cannot
find a source and instead cite a source that refers to the original, include the
abbreviation qted. in (quoted in)
before the indirect source:
Parker
thought that the 1555 meteor shower was brighter than that of 1547 (qted. in
Lang 44-7).
If you include
more than one work in a reference, separate the citations with a semicolon:
(Blacker, Super
Hoaxes 66; Lang 46-7).
B. ENDNOTES/FOOTNOTES
Endnotes are often called
footnotes, but endnotes are really just that—notes on a page at the end of the
paper. Footnotes are notes placed
four lines below the text of the page to which they refer.
Both endnotes and footnotes are arranged numerically, using Arabic
numerals that correspond to the numbers in the text.
Endnotes are double-spaced, both within and between the notes.
Footnotes should be single-spaced, with two spaces between notes.
If a footnote continues onto the next page, you should insert a solid
line across the page two lines below the text and then place the continued note
two lines below this solid line (Gibaldi 269).
As you can tell, endnotes are much easier to set up (and modify, as your
paper changes) than footnotes, so if a teacher requires notes, ask if you can
use endnotes.
Both footnotes and
endnotes are identified in the paper with consecutive superscript numbers, which
are placed after punctuation marks (except dashes):
Others think that it was a natural
phenomenon.2
The kind of
violence seen on television is not honestly violent3—there lies its
harm.
The first
endnote and footnote for each source includes basically the same information
that is in a bibliographic citation for that type of work, but the format is
different and you should indent only the first
line of notes.
Subsequent
notes for each source usually need only include the names of authors and page
#s:
1
Smith 333-4.
If, however,
you used two books by the same author, you should also include a shortened
version of the titles:
2 Blacker,
Super Hoaxes 62.
If your teacher wants you to use footnotes, she or he may not require a list of works cited because entries would be redundant with the information in the first note for each source. Don’t make this assumption—check with your teacher! Sometimes teachers require a bibliography of every source that you looked at during your research (sometimes called a list of works consulted) and footnotes or endnotes for the works that you actually referred to in the paper.
For
questions or comments, contact
Helen Temple Cooke Library
Dana Hall School
45 Dana Rd.
Wellesley, MA 02482
(781) 235-3010 x2185
library@danahall.org
Last revised 20 October 2002
© Copyright 2001-2002, Dana Hall School