(MLA 7th ed.) How do I cite a Viewpoint Essay in Gale's Opposing Viewpoints?

"Viewpoint Essays" are reprinted from the print anthologies in the Greenhaven series (e.g., Opposing Viewpoints, Opposing Viewpoints Digests, At Issue, Contemporary Issues Companion, Current Controversies, and Teen Decisions).  A typical essay consists of an excerpt from a source (journal, magazine, newspaper, report, government publication, etc.), prefaced by an editor-written summary of the source's position, along with questions for the reader and a list of further readings.

Gale provides two kinds of documentation for a Viewpoint Essay (Gale Document #EJ3010130253):

• Publication facts about the original article (at the top of the page under "Table of Contents")

"U.S. Navy Plans Ocean Assault," Earth Island Journal, vol. 41, Summer 1999, p. 18. Copyright © 1999 by Earth Island Journal. Reproduced by permission.

• A "Source Citation" (at the bottom of the page)

LaBudde, Nathan. "Antisubmarine Sonar Threatens Marine Mammals." Opposing Viewpoints: Endangered Oceans. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Berkeley Public Library. 25 Dec. 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010130253&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&version=1.0>.

In most cases you will be citing the entire Viewpoint Essay (both the editor's enrichment and the original source) as a short work in an anthology, available online in Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.

Procedure: Choose "Anthololgy / Book Collection," then select:

• Material in a collection / anthology (not reprint or excerpt)
• Online: Text of a printed anthology or other book collection available online

Your citation including the optional URL will look like this:

"Antisubmarine Sonar Threatens Marine Mammals." Opposing Viewpoints: Endangered Oceans. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2004. N. pag. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 25 Dec. 2009. <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/>.

NOTES:

• The author shown in the "Source Citation" is actually the author of the original article, and so is not included when citing the entire essay.
• Use the database search page URL for your works cited list.
• MLA (1.5.4) suggests noting useful identifying information in a working bibliography to help you locate the source quickly while doing your research.  We suggest the following:
  
  • Add the long but direct URL to your note cards, if Gale's "Infomark" identifies it as a stable URL.
  • Add the Gale document number to the annotation field.  When you are ready to export your source list, delete that number.

Option #2:  Citing the original source as a reprint (without the editors comments) (Gale Document #EJ3010130253)

Generally MLA suggests that you read and reference original sources since the context of a quotation or excerpt helps understand it. Sources like government publications and organization reports are often available on the agency or foundation's official Web site.

In this case, the Earth Island Journal <http://www.earthisland.org/journal/> archive does not go back to 1999, so we cannot read the original article.  Gale's information about the original source helps use evaluate authority and credibility, since it reveals that the excerpt came from a journal published by Earth Island Institute, a "hub for grassroots [environmental] campaigns."

Although you cannot read the full journal article, you could cite just the article without the editorial enrichment. (However, If your research draws on the editor's background information in the Viewpoint Essay, use Option #1 instead.)

Procedure: Choose "Journal," then select:

• Reprint in a book - A journal article reprinted in a book or collection (which in turn can be published in print, online, or on electronic media).
• A journal article
• Online: Journal article in a book / collection, available online

Your citation with the optional URL will look like this:

LaBudde, Nathan. "Antisubmarine Sonar Threatens Marine Mammals." Opposing Viewpoints: Endangered Oceans. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2004. N. pag. Rpt. of "U.S. Navy Plans Ocean Assault." Earth Island Journal 41 (Summer 1999): 18. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 25 Dec. 2009. <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/>.

 NOTES: 

• Include the author of the original article, incorrectly listed in Gale's "Source Citation" as the author of the "Viewpoint Essay."
• Use the database search page URL for your works cited list.
• MLA (1.5.4) suggests noting useful identifying information in a working bibliography to help you locate the source quickly while doing your research.  We suggest the following:
  • Add the long but direct URL to your note cards, if Gale's "Infomark" identifies it as a stable URL.
  • Add the Gale document number to the annotation field.  When you are ready to export your source list, delete that number.

Link:
www.noodletools.com/helpdesk/index.php?action=kb&print=124