As you continue to research and write, pay careful attention to matters of style. Keep in mind that if you use a citation generator–either one available through the HPU Libraries databases or elsewhere online–the citations may include errors. Compare them with the models at the MLA Style Center, on OWL, or in the MLA Handbook, ninth edition.
The list of links on my blog includes the websites for both the MLA Style Center and OWL (Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab). At the library’s reference desk (pictured above), you can pick up a handout on MLA style and consult a physical copy of the MLA Handbook, ninth edition.
Documentation Styles
The library’s reference desk also houses handbooks and handouts for other documentation styles, including APA (the American Psychological Association), CSE (the Council of Science Editors), and Chicago Style. Those are styles you will be required to use for projects in art, history, religion, sciences, and social sciences. For more information on some of the styles you will use in your other college courses, see “The Four Documentation Styles: Similarities and Differences” in Writing Analytically (367-75).
Citation Generators
The pages in both pictures below include a citation-generating feature. (See the small rectangle on the right labeled Cite.) However, only one of the two will render all the information you will need to include in your entry. If you use a citation generator, make sure that you select the required style, MLA, ninth edition, and double-check the content and form for accuracy.
Bonus Assignment
Directions
- Determine which citation generator option–the one on the HPU Libraries page or the one on the JSTOR page–will provide all the information you need.
- Compose a comment of two complete sentences or more that (1) specifies the page as HPU Libraries or JSTOR, (2) notes what the other page’s citation lacks, and (3) identifies any stylistic changes that still need to be made to the “correct” citation. Simply looking at the two pictures above will not provide the answers; you will need to visit the HPU Libraries site and use the citation generators to see what they yield.
- Post your comment as a reply to this blog entry no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, March 27. (To post your comment, click on the post’s title, and scroll down to the bottom of the page. You will then see the image of an airmail envelope with a leave comment option.)
I will approve your comments (make them visible) after Friday’s deadline.
Next Up
Wordplay Day! To prepare for class, revisit the Dictionary and World Builder pages on the Scrabble website or the Merriam-Webster Scrabble Word Finder page, and review the blog posts devoted to Scrabble tips. tips.
Jane Lucas 