Writing: Research Paper Citations and MLA Format Worksheet

Question 1

Explain why writers use citations in a research paper.

Accepted Answer

Writers use citations to give credit to the original authors, help readers find the sources, and avoid plagiarism.

Question 2

Use this book information to create an MLA Works Cited entry: Author: Jacqueline Woodson; Title: Brown Girl Dreaming; Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books; Year: 2014.

Accepted Answer

The correct entry is: Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014. The author's last name comes first, the book title is italicized, and the publisher and year come last.

Question 3

A student uses this sentence from page 42 of a book by Gary Soto: "The sun pressed down on the street." Write the correct MLA in-text citation after the quote.

Accepted Answer

The correct citation is: "The sun pressed down on the street" (Soto 42). The author's last name and page number go in parentheses, and the period comes after the citation.

Question 4

Choose the correct MLA Works Cited entry for a magazine article by Maria Lopez titled "Saving the Sea Turtles" in Ocean Kids, May 2022, pages 12-15. A. Lopez, Maria. Saving the Sea Turtles. Ocean Kids, May 2022, pp. 12-15. B. Lopez, Maria. "Saving the Sea Turtles." Ocean Kids, May 2022, pp. 12-15. C. Maria Lopez, Ocean Kids, "Saving the Sea Turtles," 12-15.

Accepted Answer

Choice B is correct because the author's last name comes first, the article title is in quotation marks, the magazine title is listed next, and the page range uses pp.

Question 5

A student paraphrases an idea from page 88 of a book by Linda Sue Park. Write the MLA in-text citation that should go at the end of the paraphrased sentence.

Accepted Answer

The correct in-text citation is (Park 88). A paraphrase still needs a citation because the idea came from a source.

Question 6

Put these Works Cited entries in the correct alphabetical order: Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games.; Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover.; Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese.

Accepted Answer

The correct alphabetical order is Alexander, Kwame; Collins, Suzanne; and Yang, Gene Luen. Works Cited entries are alphabetized by the author's last name.

Question 7

Use this website information to create an MLA Works Cited entry: Author: Ana Patel; Page title: How Recycling Works; Website name: Green Planet Kids; Date: 10 Apr. 2023; URL: www.greenplanetkids.org/recycling.

Accepted Answer

The correct entry is: Patel, Ana. "How Recycling Works." Green Planet Kids, 10 Apr. 2023, www.greenplanetkids.org/recycling. The web page title goes in quotation marks, and the website name should be italicized.

Question 8

Fix the punctuation and citation in this sentence: "Learning takes practice." (Nguyen, 18)

Accepted Answer

The corrected sentence is: "Learning takes practice" (Nguyen 18). In MLA format, the period belongs after the parenthetical citation and there is no comma between the author's name and the page number.

Question 9

Complete this sentence with the correct MLA citation: According to historian Rosa Lee, the town grew quickly after the railroad arrived _____. The information is from page 58.

Accepted Answer

The correct sentence is: According to historian Rosa Lee, the town grew quickly after the railroad arrived (58). Since the author's name is already in the sentence, only the page number is needed in parentheses.

Question 10

A Works Cited entry for a web page says: Green, Tara. "Volcano Facts." Earth Science Now, 2021. What important information is missing if the teacher requires web citations to include a URL?

Accepted Answer

The URL is missing from the entry. If the teacher requires it, the URL should be added after the date so readers can find the web page.

Question 11

A student found an article in an online database. Explain the order of the source title, container, and database in an MLA citation.

Accepted Answer

The article title is the source title, the journal or website title is the first container, and the database name is the second container. MLA starts with the smaller work and then names the larger places where it was found.

Question 12

List three formatting rules for an MLA Works Cited page.

Accepted Answer

A Works Cited page should have the title Works Cited centered at the top, entries alphabetized by the first word of each entry, and a hanging indent for each entry. It is also usually double-spaced.

Question 13

Rewrite this dropped quote so it includes a signal phrase and an MLA citation: "Robots can help with dangerous jobs" from page 27 of an article by Malik Brooks.

Accepted Answer

A strong revision is: Malik Brooks explains, "Robots can help with dangerous jobs" (27). Since the author's name is in the sentence, only the page number is needed in parentheses.

Question 14

Decide whether this sentence needs a citation in most research papers: The Earth orbits the Sun once each year. Explain your answer.

Accepted Answer

This sentence usually does not need a citation because it is common knowledge. If the writer used a source's exact words or included a specific unusual fact, then a citation would be needed.

Question 15

Correct this MLA Works Cited entry: Smith, John. "The History of Skateboards" Skate Life, 2020 www.skatelife.org/history

Accepted Answer

The corrected entry is: Smith, John. "The History of Skateboards." Skate Life, 2020, www.skatelife.org/history. The article title needs a period inside the closing quotation mark, and a comma is needed before the URL.

Writing: Research Paper Citations and MLA Format

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