Do I have to cite sources inside the text in a summary?

Question

I'm doing MLA format.
I read 5-6 different sources and I've put together a summary in my own words. Do I still have to cite the source at in-text?

Answer 1

You should always cite sources. If you're ever unsure whether you should, the answer is "yes." As a teacher once told me, if you didn't come up with the idea or information out of your own brain, then cite it.

To use MLA format, you put all your sources in a bibliography at the end of your text. Then, inside the text, you can use a parenthetical citation. In the parenthesis, you put the last name of the author and the date -- and the page number if it's a direct quotation.

Here's an example:

Many critics have taken the position that Snow White is a parable of female socio-sexual development in the modern era. For example, John Prentiss claims that Snow White's repressed sexual longings are manifested in her feverish desire to clean the dwarves' house (Prentiss, 1986). Other critics have focused more on the Queen's sexual rivalry with her pre-pubescent step-daughter (Smith, 1972; Jones 1988). Indeed, Snow White's high voice and round cheeks evoke a "burdgeoning Lolita to tempt and delight the most cyncial of nympholepts" (Smith, p. 33).

Bibliography:

Jones, Walter. (1988) Snow White and the Sexual Revolution. New York: New York University Press.

Prentiss, Katherine. (1986) "Is Snow White a Virgin?" Journal of Cartoon Criticism. Vol 88, No. 9.

Smith, John. (1972). Pederasty in the Films of Walt Disney. London: Happy Press.

Note: these sources are completely made up, in case you were wondering... I probably have the punctuation wrong on the bibliographies so you should check MLA's website for the correct way to do that.

Answer 2

yes, you do.

if the idea isnt yours and 110% original, you have to state where it came from. it doesnt matter if you are directly quoting it or if you summarized it.