Expert: Dan Smith - 5/12/2004

Question
Sir,
I completed an essay recently, but I later found out my teacher requires a works cited area.
I used information from my textbook, study guide, class videos, and the internet to form my own personal answer to the question for the essay.
So, what is the proper way to go about citing work when the answers are basically your own opinion. I just used the class materials to form my opinion.
Help!
Thanks, Jason  

Answer
Your teacher is not just telling you she wants a works-cited page. Teacher wants evidence that you have done research and wants to know what that research is. You don't have to cite your own opinions, of course, but you do have to cite the evidence that led to those opinions. That is a research paper is. What you will have to do is go back to the material that you drew from and cite the specific references you used in it. A good source on how to do that is the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.  If you make an argument it should look something like this:

Ann Coulter, in her book, "Treason," uses a number of phony techniques to show media bias. One of the methods she used was the "overloaded Nexis search" by which she purported to show the New York Times had not covered a controversial 1994 speech by Jesse Jackson in Britain. Her statement was, "LexisNexis search of NYT archives from December 1994 through January 1995 for 'Jesse Jackson and Germany and fascism and South America' produces no documents." Franken goes on to note that a more reasonable search, (Jesse Jackson and Christmas and Britain) shows" that the times did run an article on the speech  (Franken 2003). I checked on what Franken had shown about Coulter's phony research techniques, and it is true. I therefore conclude that Ann Coulter is indeed a lying liar.

The "works cited" page for this entry would be:

Franken, Al. (2003). Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. New York: Penguin Group.

That's what your teacher is saying. Where did you get the information from which you drew your own opinion? She's not saying don't form opinions. She's saying base them on evidence and show me the evidence. In the above paragraph, I offer a conclusion (my own opinion) that is supported by evidence. My example, by the way, is true.

Hope this helps.