How To Organize MLA Citations In A Computer Science Dissertation?


The MLA citation style is specially designed to meet the specific needs of computer science dissertation and is the most preferred citation style of many professors and scholars.

  • Citation basics
  • An honest academic work gives credit to and acknowledges the source. It is a sure tool to rule out plagiarism. Citation also helps the reader to identify the source and to go to the source for more information.

  • MLA citation rules
  • All academic work is presented following certain citation rules namely in-text citation and works cited page. Paraphrasing and Direct quote are the two types of In-text citation.

  • Paraphrasing
  • Proper paraphrasing is an art wherein the scholar summarizes another author's ideas in his own words and then uses them. Typically the in line citation has the author's last name followed by the page number with the entire citation in brackets. Example: (Warangal 24) The sentence period comes after the citation. It thus includes your use research and statistics from another source. Take care not to use quotation marks in paraphrasing.

  • Direct quotes
  • When the scholar uses another person's words directly in his/her paper it is a direct quote. It is used only when we want the reader to read an important historical word spoken by eminent personality or an important historical event. You must follow this simple rule while using a direct quote. Put quotation marks around the sentence and then you must cite it at the end. For instance Original Text: (From Charles Babbage, "Computer basics." Dial (May 1940): 14.)

  • Information included in in-text citations
  • The in-text citation gives the name of the author (or authors) of the work you are citing. It also very clearly points out the page number on which the information you are using can be found. With this information the reader can easily go to the source of your Works Cited page either to verify that the given information is factual or to gather more information on the topic of your dissertation.

  • Works cited page
  • The last page of your dissertation is the Works Cited page. Here you give a list, using the prescribed format, of all the sources you have used in your dissertation. You must format this page following Standard Citation Rules.

  • Key points for formatting
  • Always label Works Cited Page at the top centre of the page. All sources on this page must be listed in an alphabetical order by the authors' last name. Ensure that the first line in each entry is aligned to the margin. All consequent lines within the entry must be indented only five spaces. In the works cited page entries should be single spaced. Double space is used in between entries.

  • Works cited list
  • Books and Reference Books used in the dissertation must be clearly cited in an orderly manner. Then cite Newspapers, Magazines, Journals, and Other Sources used in the work followed by the Electronic Sources.

Thus citations, an integral part of the computer science dissertation, when systematically organised makes your work consistent, comprehensive, thorough and complete.