Documentation, Part I

Part I of this article is an update of Word Works #38, issued in October 1990, on documentation of sources in student papers. Part II, coming soon, will deal with the world of online sources and how they are documented, a new development since our first article on documentation appeared.

We called #38 "Into the Documentation Jungle." We used the metaphor of a jungle to describe the world of documentation, but our point was that it is only an apparent jungle. Each documentation system-- whether it be APA, CBE, CMS, or MLA -- has its own conventions and logic, and there is nothing very complicated about any of them. But when instructors don't provide a rationale for prescribing a certain system, then the students see documentation as a tangled thicket. It's safe to say that the writing center deals far less often with writing anxiety than with documentation anxiety.

Ten years ago we noted that when we asked the writers what form of documentation they should use, the most frequent reply was, "The teacher didn't say. He just said to use any system we wanted as long as we were consistent." Unfortunately, they say the same thing today. Such direction does not serve the students well. Though it may be intended as a generous, friendly gesture from the teacher's point of view, it often confuses the students. They don't have any basis for choosing one system over another. When they come to us for advice, we tell them to use MLA, because we assume they have at least had some practice with MLA documentation in ENGL 102.

An overview of documentation systems

All of the current full-size writing handbooks, those that don't call themselves something like "brief" or "quick reference," give fairly complete directions and models for using four systems of documentation: APA, CBE, Chicago/Turabian, and MLA. The reason for choosing one or the other should be guided by what discipline the students are writing for. The table on page 3 outlines the preferred forms for general clusters of disciplines. If the table looks rather hazy and overlapping, that's because in some disciplines different professors prefer different forms. We could trace it back further to the professional journals in various fields, which don't agree with each other very well. The information in the table is sketchy also because the handbooks themselves are cautious about assigning the different systems to specific disciplines.

The fact is, the students -- at least those that come to the writing center -- are not accustomed enough to any system to make an informed choice. Many of them are feeling barely in control of their projects. The job of researching a subject and synthesizing the information into their own work is already a big order in their eyes; unclear direction about how to format and document the paper can just add to their anxiety.

Documentation systems fall into three categories: name-page, name-year, and numbered reference. The following descriptions will give a quick sketch of the purpose of each one.

Name-page citations are useful when the priority is to highlight precise pages for all borrowed material, but not so important to highlight the date. Hence, the author and page are the only information cited in the text (e.g., Hedley 35). When someone is writing about literature, then presumably what Critic A said about Othello in 1930 might be just as valid as what Critic B said in 1998. (Surely some of our colleagues in literature will dispute such a claim, given the development of literary theory, but that was the original assumption.) More important than the date is the actual page reference where readers can find out more or check on the writer's accuracy. Name-page text citations exist in both parenthetical form and footnote or endnote form. MLA and Chicago have both parenthetical or footnote/endnote forms, but the parenthetic form is preferred by MLA and the footnote/endnote form is preferred by Chicago.

Name-year citations are useful when the date of the source is important. The author and year are the only information cited in the text (e.g., Crowley, 1992). Given the cumulative nature of knowledge in the social sciences, what Researcher X concluded in 1958 will be superseded by what Researcher Y concluded in 2000. The name-year system endorsed by CBE is very similar to the APA system. Name-year text citations are always parenthetical.

The third general type is the citation-sequence system, also called numbered reference, which is the other form endorsed by CBE. Its purpose is similar to that of the name-year system. Readers want to be able to trace information to its source, and their first concern is likely to be how old the information is. Citation-sequence systems arrange the sources according to "cast in order of appearance." The first source cited in the text is the first one listed in the references and assigned the number1 (superscript numbers are preferred over numbers in parentheses (Lunsford and Connors 587)).

The CBE manual notes that the choice between name-year and citation-sequence documentation depends on such variables as space and readability.

The citation-sequence format has the advantage that the numbers cause minimal interruption of text and save space and paper. Its disadvantages are that the references and authors' names have low visibility, and everything has to be renumbered when a source is added or deleted.

The name-year format has the advantage that the cited authors' names and the dates are available in the text, so readers can recognize the names of familiar researchers and get a historical perspective. Its disadvantages are that long strings of citations interrupt the text and irritate readers, and the formatting rules are more complex (619-621).

 Confusions about MLA and APA

We have observed in the writing center that confusion exists about certain details of the MLA and APA formats. There are different ways of doing some things, and students are often uncertain what is expected of them.

The confusion about MLA format, relatively minor, concerns the use of a title page. The MLA Handbook says, "A research paper does not need a title page." Instead, the information that would go on a title page appears in the upper left corner of the first page of text. The handbook advises students: "If your teacher requires a title page, format it according to the instructions you are given" (Section 3.5). Some of the handbooks that include sample MLA papers include title pages; some do not. Instructors should specify their preferences and provide models.

Confusions about APA format are a bit more serious; they involve differences between a "copy manuscript," an article submitted for publication; and a "final manuscript," a thesis, dissertation, or undergraduate paper (Section A.01). Copy manuscripts are not in the final form that readers will see. Those in charge of typesetting and formatting at the journal office ask for a certain format, which they convert to the journal's format. Thus manuscript authors are normally required to supply "running heads" to identify the article at the top of each page in the journal, and to format the References with paragraph indentation, which will be converted to hanging indentation in production.

What students should hand in are "final manuscripts." Since the papers are not being submitted for publication in a professional journal, it is not necessary for them to include running heads (except, perhaps, when students have been informed that one of the goals of the assignment is to teach them how to submit manuscripts for publication). Likewise, students should ordinarily format the References in hanging indentation, because their papers are presumed to be in final form (Lunsford and Connors 570, Rosen and Behrens 602). The hanging indents make the information more easily accessible. The professional journals regularly use hanging indentation in the "final" form of published articles. However, some instructors may prefer that their students use paragraph indentation (Fulwiler and Hayakawa 830, Troyka 586). The important thing is, the instructor should tell students which version they want them to use.

Many students come to the Writing Center for help with APA documentation. They inform us that they've simply been told to "use APA." If we have no more information to go on than that, we refer to the current handbooks rather than the APA Publication Manual. The handbooks provide "final manuscript" form for student papers. We do not refer to the Publication Manual unless students tell us that their instructors have specifically directed them to use it.

Helping students deal with documentation

To sum up, here are five tips to follow when assigning documented papers. They should help students feel more confident about documenting their papers.

Don't tell students they can use any documentation system they want as long as they are consistent. Certain systems are more appropriate to certain disciplines than others, and students should be aware of this fact.

Decide which documentation and format system you prefer that your students follow. In making the decision, consider what styles are commonly used in your department or discipline. If there is more than one possibility to choose from, choose the one you believe presents the information most clearly.

Let students know the reason why they are being asked to use a certain system. Point out any detailed instructions you want to students to follow. For instance, in MLA, are they to use a title page or not? In APA, are they to include a running head? Are they to format the References in paragraph or hanging indentation? In either system, are they to underline or italicize titles?

Provide a sample paper to help students get a sense of what the whole paper should look like, or refer them to a sample paper in one of the handbooks. Some handbooks now provide complete or partial sample papers in all four leading forms: APA, CBE, CMS, and MLA.

Documentation form	General type	Disciplines	Authoritative sources*
APA (American Psychological Association)	name-year	Psychology, social sciences, physical sciences, medicine, engineering	Publication Manual (of the American Psychological Association). 4th ed. Washington, CD: APA, 1994. (Students should consult a good writing handbook instead)
CBE (Council of Biology Editors)	citation sequence & name- year	Physical and biological sciences; social sciences, medicine, engineering	Scientific Style and Format: The CBE manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. 6th ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
CMS (Chicago manual of Style)	name-page	History, philosophy, religion, fine arts	Chicago Manual of Style. 14th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993; and Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th ed. Rev. John Grossman and Alice Bennett. Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 1996.
MLA (Modern Language Association)	name-page	Literature, languages, humanities	Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 2nd ed. New York: MLA, 1998; and Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed. New York: MLA, 1999.

*Students rarely need to consult these sources. Normally they can find all the information they need on all four of these documentation forms, including sample formatted pages, in a good current writing handbook.

References

In addition to the style manuals listed in the table, we consulted the following handbooks while preparing this Word Works issue.

Fulwiler, Toby, and Alan R. Hayakawa. The Blair Handbook. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000.

Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1998.

Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. The Hold Handbook. 5th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1999.

Lunsford, Andrea, and Robert Connors. The New St. Martin's Handbook. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.

Rosen, Leonard J., and Laurence Behrens. The Allyn & Bacon Handbook. 4th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1999.

Troyka, Lynn Quitman. Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999.

RL

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