An important, even "critical," element of professional writing is the
documentation of the resources used. These resources can be divided into two groups:
primary and secondary. Primary Resources are the literary texts
that are being explored: the poetry, fiction, drama, etc., that comprise the subject of
the essay. Secondary Resources are other materials that the writer
uses to explore primary resources. These frequently consist of the critical
commentary of other writers, as well as biographical, historical information or documents.
A writer is responsible for indicating clearly what resources have been used and
where these have been used, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase or summary.
Different academic disciplines have established various methods for documenting
resources. The standards for literary discourse are maintained by the Modern
Language Association. These standards outlet two steps or elements of proper
documentation format:
