cquin Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Hi everyone, I'm going to ask a stupid question about MLA format. Please bear with me. I'm looking over my writing sample and polishing it up content-wise, but I noticed that a lot of my in-text citations just look...wrong. I'm dealing with a short story by Beauvoir but also quoting The Second Sex. So my citations all look like this: (Beauvoir, The Second Sex 120) (Beauvoir, "The Age of Discretion" 83) (Beauvoir, The Second Sex 392) (Beauvoir, "The Age of Discretion" 94) on and on, ad nauseam Doesn't that look ridiculous?! I thought that was the correct way to cite multiple works by the same author but now I'm doubting myself. I'm freaking out about enough app stuff right now that I don't need MLA in-text citation fucking with me too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolopixie Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 That's correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cquin Posted December 3, 2011 Author Share Posted December 3, 2011 Haaa, your calm, pithy answer to my rambling question just made me snort out loud in the library. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolopixie Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 LOL you're welcome. I pulled out my MLA book last weekend to make sure I had the same thing formatted correctly in my WS. I'm working on mine right now too, and I have to say it is starting to KICK ASS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripWillis Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 (edited) I think when you're dealing with multiple works by one author, you don't actually need to list the last name if it's already clarified within the paragraph. So, some of your citations could just have a blurb phrase or signal term like ("Age of Discretion" 45) to signal which Bouvoir you'd be citing from. I am working with 4 or 5 essays from an author in addition to his novel, and for some of the essays, I cite them by signal phrases that show which text I'm citing. Edited December 3, 2011 by TripWillis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolopixie Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I'm sticking to MLA guidelines straight out of the book to be safe. Plus, I dance back and forth between texts within paragraphs, so my citations do need to clarify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cquin Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) I think when you're dealing with multiple works by one author, you don't actually need to list the last name if it's already clarified within the paragraph. So, some of your citations could just have a blurb phrase or signal term like ("Age of Discretion" 45) to signal which Bouvoir you'd be citing from. I am working with 4 or 5 essays from an author in addition to his novel, and for some of the essays, I cite them by signal phrases that show which text I'm citing. Is this so? I was under the impression that unless the author's name is explicitly mentioned in the SENTENCE, you have to put the name, even if the author has been mentioned earlier in the paragraph. E.g., Beauvoir says that "blah blah blah" (The Second Sex 15). vs. "Blah blah blah" (Beauvoir, The Second Sex 15). Edited December 4, 2011 by cquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolopixie Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Again, you're correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lyonessrampant Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 You're right, cquin. If the sentence provides an attribution, you don't need the last name in the citation, but if that is not the case, you should use the last name, particularly if you're worried about the need to disambiguate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolopixie Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Off topic question: what is another phrase for "not need"? Example: It allows for the child to recognize that he or she is a seperate entity, but does not allow for the child to not need their mother for guidance and influence. Please help. I'm having a mildly retarded moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripWillis Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Off topic question: what is another phrase for "not need"? Example: It allows for the child to recognize that he or she is a seperate entity, but does not allow for the child to not need their mother for guidance and influence. Please help. I'm having a mildly retarded moment. "rebuke the necessity of" ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolopixie Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Me likey - thank you! Seriously could not think of another way to phrase it. This is when you know your brain is turning to mush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawera Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 re-write and say the child enters a period of "proto-adolescence" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolopixie Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Even shorter, fantastic - being laconic while writing about Lacan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawera Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Got to be honest I 100% made up proto-adolescence. I also 100% made up everything I've ever written about Lacan. I did like the mirror stage, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripWillis Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Proto-anything is really the ticket. Proto, post, pre, meta, beta, inter, intra, ogical. JOUISSANCE. Now copy and paste that line over and over again for 15 pages and you're bound to get in somewhere. HaruNoKaze 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolopixie Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I knew there was trick!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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