MLA Manual - Guide for MLA Citation 

Available to use at the library

Plagiarism is a serious offense (refer to JWU handbook) , page 52. Therefore, all papers which use information from any source must be documented correctly. In an effort to standardize the format for the research paper throughout Johnson & Wales University's undergraduate program, the English Department has created this guide. This guide indicates the appropriate form for layout, parenthetical documentation/attribution and works cited page as specified by the Modern Language Association (MLA).

Please note that the newer, easier to use parenthetical documentation and or attribution should replace the more complicated endnotes or footnotes. In addition, Works Cited is the term which should replace Bibliography. Works Cited is a more inclusive term since it encompasses all types of sources, such as lecture notes, videos, computer programs and online sources.

All students at Johnson & Wales University are taught this procedure during their freshman year in ENG 1020 and the method is reinforced in other Freshman Studies courses.

Since this guide has been designed to be brief and easy to use, it is hoped that all faculty will adhere to this format when assigning papers which must be documented, and all students will attend to the details which correct documentation requires.

As stated in the JWU Charlotte Student Handbook (2009-2010), page 52:
To plagiarize means to use reference sources without providing correct acknowledgements. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty because when you plagiarize, you are using ideas or words created by another person and — because a citation has not been provided to your reader — you are not giving proper credit for the work done by the other person. Thus you are claiming that the words or ideas are your own. In essence, you are stealing from the original writer. (LIBRARIAN'S NOTE: Works done by others also includes music, performances, audios, images, videos, presentations, or choreography.)

Plagiarism may take many forms: cheating, copying information directly without providing quotation marks, failing to cite sources, or citing sources incorrectly. It does not matter whether you intended to plagiarize or whether the plagiarism occurred unintentionally — it still constitutes academic dishonesty. Ignorance of the rules of correct citation is not an acceptable excuse for plagiarism. As members of the Johnson & Wales University community it is the responsibility of all students to clearly understand and abide by the rules.