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How to Cite Sources

Here is a complete list for how to cite sources. Most of these guides present citation guidance and examples in MLA, APA, and Chicago.

If you’re looking for general information on MLA or APA citations , the EasyBib Writing Center was designed for you! It has articles on what’s needed in an MLA in-text citation , how to format an APA paper, what an MLA annotated bibliography is, making an MLA works cited page, and much more!

MLA Format Citation Examples

The Modern Language Association created the MLA Style, currently in its 9th edition, to provide researchers with guidelines for writing and documenting scholarly borrowings.  Most often used in the humanities, MLA style (or MLA format ) has been adopted and used by numerous other disciplines, in multiple parts of the world.

MLA provides standard rules to follow so that most research papers are formatted in a similar manner. This makes it easier for readers to comprehend the information. The MLA in-text citation guidelines, MLA works cited standards, and MLA annotated bibliography instructions provide scholars with the information they need to properly cite sources in their research papers, articles, and assignments.

• Book Chapter
• Conference Paper
• Documentary
• Encyclopedia
• Google Images
• Kindle Book
• Memorial Inscription
• Museum Exhibit
• Painting or Artwork
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Sheet Music
• Thesis or Dissertation
• YouTube Video

APA Format Citation Examples

The American Psychological Association created the APA citation style in 1929 as a way to help psychologists, anthropologists, and even business managers establish one common way to cite sources and present content.

APA is used when citing sources for academic articles such as journals, and is intended to help readers better comprehend content, and to avoid language bias wherever possible. The APA style (or APA format ) is now in its 7th edition, and provides citation style guides for virtually any type of resource.

Chicago Style Citation Examples

The Chicago/Turabian style of citing sources is generally used when citing sources for humanities papers, and is best known for its requirement that writers place bibliographic citations at the bottom of a page (in Chicago-format footnotes ) or at the end of a paper (endnotes).

The Turabian and Chicago citation styles are almost identical, but the Turabian style is geared towards student published papers such as theses and dissertations, while the Chicago style provides guidelines for all types of publications. This is why you’ll commonly see Chicago style and Turabian style presented together. The Chicago Manual of Style is currently in its 17th edition, and Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations is in its 8th edition.

Citing Specific Sources or Events

• Declaration of Independence
• Gettysburg Address
• Martin Luther King Jr. Speech
• President Obama’s Farewell Address
• President Trump’s Inauguration Speech
• White House Press Briefing

Additional FAQs

• Citing Archived Contributors
• Citing a Blog
• Citing a Book Chapter
• Citing a Source in a Foreign Language
• Citing an Image
• Citing a Song
• Citing Special Contributors
• Citing a Translated Article
• Citing a Tweet

6 Interesting Citation Facts

The world of citations may seem cut and dry, but there’s more to them than just specific capitalization rules, MLA in-text citations , and other formatting specifications. Citations have been helping researches document their sources for hundreds of years, and are a great way to learn more about a particular subject area.

Ever wonder what sets all the different styles apart, or how they came to be in the first place? Read on for some interesting facts about citations!

1. There are Over 7,000 Different Citation Styles

You may be familiar with MLA and APA citation styles, but there are actually thousands of citation styles used for all different academic disciplines all across the world. Deciding which one to use can be difficult, so be sure to ask you instructor which one you should be using for your next paper.

2. Some Citation Styles are Named After People

While a majority of citation styles are named for the specific organizations that publish them (i.e. APA is published by the American Psychological Association, and MLA format is named for the Modern Language Association), some are actually named after individuals. The most well-known example of this is perhaps Turabian style, named for Kate L. Turabian, an American educator and writer. She developed this style as a condensed version of the Chicago Manual of Style in order to present a more concise set of rules to students.

3. There are Some Really Specific and Uniquely Named Citation Styles

How specific can citation styles get? The answer is very. For example, the “Flavour and Fragrance Journal” style is based on a bimonthly, peer-reviewed scientific journal published since 1985 by John Wiley & Sons. It publishes original research articles, reviews and special reports on all aspects of flavor and fragrance. Another example is “Nordic Pulp and Paper Research,” a style used by an international scientific magazine covering science and technology for the areas of wood or bio-mass constituents.

4. More citations were created on  EasyBib.com  in the first quarter of 2018 than there are people in California.

The US Census Bureau estimates that approximately 39.5 million people live in the state of California. Meanwhile, about 43 million citations were made on EasyBib from January to March of 2018. That’s a lot of citations.

5. “Citations” is a Word With a Long History

The word “citations” can be traced back literally thousands of years to the Latin word “citare” meaning “to summon, urge, call; put in sudden motion, call forward; rouse, excite.” The word then took on its more modern meaning and relevance to writing papers in the 1600s, where it became known as the “act of citing or quoting a passage from a book, etc.”

6. Citation Styles are Always Changing

The concept of citations always stays the same. It is a means of preventing plagiarism and demonstrating where you relied on outside sources. The specific style rules, however, can and do change regularly. For example, in 2018 alone, 46 new citation styles were introduced , and 106 updates were made to exiting styles. At EasyBib, we are always on the lookout for ways to improve our styles and opportunities to add new ones to our list.

Why Citations Matter

Here are the ways accurate citations can help your students achieve academic success, and how you can answer the dreaded question, “why should I cite my sources?”

They Give Credit to the Right People

Citing their sources makes sure that the reader can differentiate the student’s original thoughts from those of other researchers. Not only does this make sure that the sources they use receive proper credit for their work, it ensures that the student receives deserved recognition for their unique contributions to the topic. Whether the student is citing in MLA format , APA format , or any other style, citations serve as a natural way to place a student’s work in the broader context of the subject area, and serve as an easy way to gauge their commitment to the project.

They Provide Hard Evidence of Ideas

Having many citations from a wide variety of sources related to their idea means that the student is working on a well-researched and respected subject. Citing sources that back up their claim creates room for fact-checking and further research . And, if they can cite a few sources that have the converse opinion or idea, and then demonstrate to the reader why they believe that that viewpoint is wrong by again citing credible sources, the student is well on their way to winning over the reader and cementing their point of view.

They Promote Originality and Prevent Plagiarism

The point of research projects is not to regurgitate information that can already be found elsewhere. We have Google for that! What the student’s project should aim to do is promote an original idea or a spin on an existing idea, and use reliable sources to promote that idea. Copying or directly referencing a source without proper citation can lead to not only a poor grade, but accusations of academic dishonesty. By citing their sources regularly and accurately, students can easily avoid the trap of plagiarism , and promote further research on their topic.

They Create Better Researchers

By researching sources to back up and promote their ideas, students are becoming better researchers without even knowing it! Each time a new source is read or researched, the student is becoming more engaged with the project and is developing a deeper understanding of the subject area. Proper citations demonstrate a breadth of the student’s reading and dedication to the project itself. By creating citations, students are compelled to make connections between their sources and discern research patterns. Each time they complete this process, they are helping themselves become better researchers and writers overall.

When is the Right Time to Start Making Citations?

Make in-text/parenthetical citations as you need them.

As you are writing your paper, be sure to include references within the text that correspond with references in a works cited or bibliography. These are usually called in-text citations or parenthetical citations in MLA and APA formats. The most effective time to complete these is directly after you have made your reference to another source. For instance, after writing the line from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities : “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…,” you would include a citation like this (depending on your chosen citation style):

(Dickens 11).

This signals to the reader that you have referenced an outside source. What’s great about this system is that the in-text citations serve as a natural list for all of the citations you have made in your paper, which will make completing the works cited page a whole lot easier. After you are done writing, all that will be left for you to do is scan your paper for these references, and then build a works cited page that includes a citation for each one.

Need help creating an MLA works cited page ? Try the MLA format generator on EasyBib.com! We also have a guide on how to format an APA reference page .

2. Understand the General Formatting Rules of Your Citation Style Before You Start Writing

While reading up on paper formatting may not sound exciting, being aware of how your paper should look early on in the paper writing process is super important. Citation styles can dictate more than just the appearance of the citations themselves, but rather can impact the layout of your paper as a whole, with specific guidelines concerning margin width, title treatment, and even font size and spacing. Knowing how to organize your paper before you start writing will ensure that you do not receive a low grade for something as trivial as forgetting a hanging indent.

Don’t know where to start? Here’s a formatting guide on APA format .

3. Double-check All of Your Outside Sources for Relevance and Trustworthiness First

Collecting outside sources that support your research and specific topic is a critical step in writing an effective paper. But before you run to the library and grab the first 20 books you can lay your hands on, keep in mind that selecting a source to include in your paper should not be taken lightly. Before you proceed with using it to backup your ideas, run a quick Internet search for it and see if other scholars in your field have written about it as well. Check to see if there are book reviews about it or peer accolades. If you spot something that seems off to you, you may want to consider leaving it out of your work. Doing this before your start making citations can save you a ton of time in the long run.

Finished with your paper? It may be time to run it through a grammar and plagiarism checker , like the one offered by EasyBib Plus. If you’re just looking to brush up on the basics, our grammar guides  are ready anytime you are.

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Citation Basics

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Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

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• Citing Sources

Citations provide information to help your audience locate the sources you consulted when writing a paper or preparing a presentation. Some of your instructors will specify which citation format you should use; others will tell you to choose your own citation format as long as you use it consistently. The most common citation formats are MLA (Modern Language Association) style, which is primarily used for papers in the humanities; APA (American Psychological Association) style, which is primarily used for papers in the social sciences; and Chicago style (The Chicago Manual of Style), which is used for both humanities and social science papers.

Some of your courses at Harvard will require you to use other citation formats. Some science courses may require you to use the citation style of the American Medical Association (AMA). AMA style is considered a standard citation format for academic writing in the sciences and is used in many textbooks and medical journals. The AMA Manual of Style is available online . The American Chemical Society publishes its own style guide , which you may be asked to use in chemistry courses. The Harvard Department of Economics provides students with a departmental style guide, which you can find  here . If you are not sure which format to use for a specific course, consult your instructor.

Both APA and MLA styles require you to credit your sources in two ways. First, you must include a parenthetical citation in the text of your paper that indicates the source of a particular quotation, paraphrased statement or idea, or fact; second, you must include a list of references at the end of your paper that enables readers to locate the sources you have used. You can read more about MLA style here and APA style here .

Chicago style also requires you to credit your sources both in the text and at the end of your paper. Chicago offers guidance on two types of in-text citations–notes or parenthetical citations. You can read more about Chicago style here .

If you have questions about which citation style to use, you should always check with your instructor.

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Citation styles: apa, mla, chicago, turabian, ieee.

• APA 7th Edition
• Turabian 9th
• Writing & Citing Help
• Understanding Plagiarism

Quick Links

Listed below are a few quick links to resources that will aid you in citing sources.

• Sign up for a Mendeley, EndNote, or Zotero training class.
• APA 7th Edition Published in October 2019. Visit this page for links to resources and examples.
• MLA Need help with citing MLA style? Find information here along with links to books in PittCat and free online resources.
• Chicago/Turabian Need help with citing Chicago/Turabian style? Find examples here along with links to the online style manual and free online resources.

Getting Started: How to use this guide

This LibGuide was designed to provide you with assistance in citing your sources when writing an academic paper.

There are different styles which format the information differently. In each tab, you will find descriptions of each citation style featured in this guide along with links to online resources for citing and a few examples.

What is a citation and citation style?

A citation is a way of giving credit to individuals for their creative and intellectual works that you utilized to support your research. It can also be used to locate particular sources and combat plagiarism. Typically, a citation can include the author's name, date, location of the publishing company, journal title, or DOI (Digital Object Identifier).

A citation style dictates the information necessary for a citation and how the information is ordered, as well as punctuation and other formatting.

How to do I choose a citation style?

There are many different ways of citing resources from your research. The citation style sometimes depends on the academic discipline involved. For example:

• APA (American Psychological Association) is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences
• MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities
• Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts

*You will need to consult with your professor to determine what is required in your specific course.

Click the links below to find descriptions of each style along with a sample of major in-text and bibliographic citations, links to books in PittCat, online citation manuals, and other free online resources.

• APA Citation Style
• MLA Citation Style
• Chicago/Turabian Citation Style
• Tools for creating bibliographies (CItation Managers)

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• Research Process
• Find Background Info
• Find Sources through the Library
• Evaluate Your Info
• Cite Your Sources
• Evaluate, Write & Cite

• is the right thing to do  to give credit to those who had the idea
• shows that you have read and understand  what experts have had to say about your topic
• helps people find the sources  that you used in case they want to read more about the topic
• provides   evidence  for your arguments
• is professional and  standard practice   for students and scholars

What is a Citation?

A citation identifies for the reader the original source for an idea, information, or image that is referred to in a work.

• In the body of a paper, the  in-text citation  acknowledges the source of information used.
• At the end of a paper, the citations are compiled on a  References  or  Works Cited  list. A basic citation includes the author, title, and publication information of the source. 

From:  Lemieux  Library,  University  of Seattle 

Why Should You Cite?

Quoting Are you quoting two or more consecutive words from a source? Then the original source should be cited and the words or phrase placed in quotes. 

Paraphrasing If an idea or information comes from another source,  even if you put it in your own words , you still need to credit the source.  General vs. Unfamiliar Knowledge You do not need to cite material which is accepted common knowledge. If in doubt whether your information is common knowledge or not, cite it. Formats We usually think of books and articles. However, if you use material from web sites, films, music, graphs, tables, etc. you'll also need to cite these as well.

Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of someone else as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source. When you work on a research paper and use supporting material from works by others, it's okay to quote people and use their ideas, but you do need to correctly credit them. Even when you summarize or paraphrase information found in books, articles, or Web pages, you must acknowledge the original author.

Citation Style Help

Helpful links:

• MLA ,  Works Cited : A Quick Guide (a template of core elements)
• CSE  (Council of Science Editors)

For additional writing resources specific to styles listed here visit the  Purdue OWL Writing Lab

Citation and Bibliography Resources

• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography
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The land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.

The land acknowledgement used at UC Santa Cruz was developed in partnership with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chairman and the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program at the UCSC Arboretum .

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Which citation style should I use?

• Chicago Notes Style
• Chicago Author-Date Style
• AMA Style (medicine)
• Bluebook (law)
• Additional Citation Styles
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• Quick Citation Generators
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• Citing Sources

Citing Sources: Which citation style should I use?

The citation style you choose will largely be dictated by the discipline in which you're writing. For many assignments your instructor will suggest or require a certain style. If you're not sure which one to use, it's always best to check with your instructor or, if you are submitting a manuscript, the publisher to see if they require a certain style. In many cases, you may not be required to use any particular style as long as you pick one and use it consistently. If you have some flexibility, use the guide below to help you decide.

Disciplinary Citation Styles

• Social Sciences
• Sciences & Medicine
• Engineering

When in doubt, try: Chicago Notes

• Architecture & Landscape Architecture → try Chicago Notes or Chicago Author-Date
• Art → try Chicago Notes
• Art History → use  Chicago Notes
• Dance → try Chicago Notes or MLA
• Drama → try Chicago Notes or MLA
• Ethnomusicology → try Chicago Notes
• Music → try Chicago Notes
• Music History → use  Chicago Notes
• Urban Design & Planning → try Chicago Notes or Chicago Author-Date

When in doubt, try: MLA

• Cinema Studies → try MLA
• Classics → try Chicago Notes
• English → use  MLA
• History → use   Chicago Notes
• Linguistics → try MLA
• Languages → try MLA
• Literatures → use  MLA
• Philosophy → try MLA
• Religion → try Chicago Notes

When in doubt, try: APA or Chicago Notes

• Anthropology → try Chicago Author-Date
• Business → try APA (see also Citing Business Information from Foster Library)
• Communication → try APA
• Criminology & Criminal Justice → try Chicago Author-Date
• Economics → try APA
• Education → try APA
• Geography → try APA
• Government & Law (for non-law students) → try Chicago Notes
• History → try Chicago Notes
• Informatics → try APA
• Law (for law students) → use Bluebook
• Library & Information Science → try APA
• Museology → try Chicago Notes
• Political Science → try Chicago Notes
• Psychology → use  APA
• Social Work → try APA
• Sociology → use  ASA or Chicago Author-Date

When in doubt, try: CSE Name-Year or CSE Citation-Sequence

• Aquatic & Fisheries Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Astronomy → try AIP or CSE Citation-Sequence
• Biology & Life Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Chemistry → try ACS
• Earth & Space Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Environmental Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Forest Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Health Sciences: Public Health, Medicine, & Nursing → use AMA or NLM
• Marine Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Mathematics → try AMS or CSE Citation-Sequence
• Oceanography → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Physics → try AIP or CSE Citation-Sequence
• Psychology  → use  APA

When in doubt, try: CSE Name-Year or IEEE

• Aeronautics and Astronautics → try CSE Citation-Sequence
• Bioengineering → try AMA or NLM
• Chemical Engineering → try ACS
• Civil and Environmental Engineering → try CSE Name-Year
• Computational Linguistics → try CSE Citation-Sequence
• Computer Science & Engineering → try IEEE
• Electrical and Computer Engineering → try IEEE
• Engineering (general) → try IEEE or CSE Name-Year
• Human Centered Design & Engineering → try IEEE
• Human-Computer Interaction + Design → try IEEE
• Industrial and Systems Engineering → try CSE Name-Yea r
• Mechanical Engineering → try Chicago Notes or Chicago Author-Date

See also: Additional Citation Styles , for styles used by specific engineering associations.

Pro Tip: Citation Tools Save Time & Stress!

If you’re enrolled in classes that each require a different citation style, it can get confusing really fast! The tools on the Quick Citation Generators section can help you format citations quickly in many different styles.

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Generate formatted bibliographies, citations, and works cited automatically

What is mybib.

MyBib is a free bibliography and citation generator that makes accurate citations for you to copy straight into your academic assignments and papers.

If you're a student, academic, or teacher, and you're tired of the other bibliography and citation tools out there, then you're going to love MyBib. MyBib creates accurate citations automatically for books, journals, websites, and videos just by searching for a title or identifier (such as a URL or ISBN).

Plus, we're using the same citation formatting engine as professional-grade reference managers such as Zotero and Mendeley, so you can be sure our bibliographies are perfectly accurate in over 9,000 styles -- including APA 6 & 7, Chicago, Harvard, and MLA 7 & 8.

Quick features:

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APA Citations (7th edition)

Citing books and ebooks.

• Citing Journal Articles
• Citing Videos
• Citing Web Resources

In this tutorial, you will learn the basics for citing a book, how to cite if there is more than one author or if a book is not a first edition, and how to cite a chapter from an edited book. Regardless if you use a print book or an eBook, you will cite it in the same way. There is no differentiation.

Every APA reference needs four parts:  author, date, title,  and  source . As you go through these examples, you will learn how to identify these four parts and how to place and format them into a proper APA reference.

Example 1: A Book With One Author

For the first example, you will learn how to cite this book:  Betting the Farm on a Drought: Stories from the Front Lines of Climate Change .

The first step is to identify the  author  of the book. This can usually be found on the cover or title page.

To list an author, write the  last name , a  comma , and the  first and middle initials , followed by a  period .

Example: McGraw, S.

Next, identify when this book was written. In this case, you will need to open the book and look inside, usually on the back of the title page, to find the date,  2015 .

List the  date  after the author, in  parentheses , followed by a  period .

Example: McGraw, S. (2015).

Next, identify the  title . Even though there is no colon on the page,  Stories from the Front Lines of Climate Change  is styled differently and in a smaller font. This shows that it is the  subtitle , and should be separated from the title with a  colon .

List the  title  of the book after the date, in  italics . Make sure you only capitalize the  first word of the title ,  the first word of the subtitle , which comes after the colon, and any  proper nouns .

Example: McGraw, S. (2015).  Betting the farm on a drought: Stories from the front lines of climate change .

Next, you need to identify the  source . For books, you need the  publisher . The book's title page shows that the publisher is  University of Texas Press .

Type the name of the  publisher , and end with a  period .

Example: McGraw, S. (2015).  Betting the farm on a drought: Stories from the front lines of climate change . University of Texas Press.

The last piece of information you need is the  DOI , which stands for digital object identifier. You can find a book’s DOI on the back of the title page. Not every book and eBook will have a DOI available. If there is no DOI, then this element can be omitted.

If the book contains a DOI, then include it after the publisher. First, type  https://doi.org/  and then the book’s DOI. Otherwise, end after the publisher. This concludes the reference.

Example: McGraw, S. (2015).  Betting the farm on a drought: Stories from the front lines of climate change . University of Texas Press. https://doi.org/10.7560/756618

If you refer to a work in your paper, either by directly quoting, paraphrasing, or by referring to main ideas, you will need to include an in-text parenthetical citation. There are a number of ways to do this. In this example, a  signal phrase  is used to introduce a direct quote. Note that the  author's name  is given in the text, and the  publication date  and  page number(s)  are enclosed in parentheses at the beginning and end of the sentence.

Example: As McGraw (2015) writes, "As with the nuclear danger in the 1960s, the potential risks of global climate change are staggering" (p. 39).

Example 2: Multiple Authors; Editions

For this next book, there are  two authors . You can obtain the date, the title, and the publisher from the book, using the steps illustrated in the first example. Note that this book is a  eighth edition . You will need to include that information in your citation as well.

When citing multiple authors, list the first author as normal, followed by a  comma , an  ampersand (&) , and then the second author. In this example, the first author has a middle initial, so this is included. The  edition  is placed right after the  title  but  before the period .

Example: Wald, K. D., & Calhoun-Brown, A. (2018).  Religion and politics in the United States  (8th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Example 3: A Chapter in an Edited Book

In this example, the entire book is overseen by  editors , but each  chapter  has a different author. If you are only using information from a single chapter, you will need to cite it a certain way.

First, find the general information for this book, as demonstrated in the previous examples. Then you need to locate the  author ,  title,  and  page numbers  of the chapter you are citing.

To cite, list the  author of the chapter  first, followed by the  date  and then the  title of the chapter . Note that the title of the chapter is not in italics. Then type the word  In , and list the  editors of the book , with the initials first. At the end of their names, list  Ed. or Eds. in parentheses , which is the abbreviation for editor or editors. Then, type a  comma , the  title of the book , and include the  page numbers in parentheses . End with the publisher.

Example: Landes, D. (2000). Culture makes almost all the difference. In L. E. Harrison & S. P. Huntington (Eds.),  Culture matters: How values shape human progress  (pp. 2–13). Basic Books.

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What Is Cite This For Me’s Citation Generator?

Cite This For Me’s open-access generator is an automated citation machine that turns any of your sources into citations in just a click. Using a citation generator helps students to integrate referencing into their research and writing routine; turning a time-consuming ordeal into a simple task.

A citation machine is essentially a works cited generator that accesses information from across the web, drawing the relevant information into a fully-formatted bibliography that clearly presents all of the sources that have contributed to your work.

If you don’t know how to cite correctly, or have a fast-approaching deadline, Cite This For Me’s accurate and intuitive citation machine will lend you the confidence to realise your full academic potential. In order to get a grade that reflects all your hard work, your citations must be accurate and complete. Using a citation maker to create your references not only saves you time but also ensures that you don’t lose valuable marks on your assignment.

Not sure how to format your citations, what citations are, or just want to find out more about Cite This For Me’s citation machine? This guide outlines everything you need to know to equip yourself with the know-how and confidence to research and cite a wide range of diverse sources in your work.

Why Do I Need To Cite?

Simply put, referencing is the citing of sources used in essays, articles, research, conferences etc. When another source contributes to your work, you have to give the original owner the appropriate credit. After all, you wouldn’t steal someone else’s possessions so why would you steal their ideas?

Any factual material or ideas you take from another source must be acknowledged in a reference, unless it is common knowledge (e.g. President Kennedy was killed in 1963). Failing to credit all of your sources, even when you’ve paraphrased or completely reworded the information, is plagiarism. Plagiarizing will result in disciplinary action, which can range from losing precious points on your assignment to expulsion from your university.

What’s more, attributing your research infuses credibility and authority into your work, both by supporting your own ideas and by demonstrating the breadth of your research. For many students, crediting sources can be a confusing and tedious process, but it’s a surefire way to improve the quality of your work so it’s essential to get it right. Luckily for you, using Cite This For Me’s citation machine makes creating accurate references easier than ever, leaving more time for you to excel in your studies.

In summary, the referencing process serves three main functions:

• To validate the statements and conclusions in your work by providing directions to other sound sources that support and verify them.
• To help your readers locate, read and check your sources, as well as establishing their contribution to your work.
• To give credit to the original author and hence avoid committing intellectual property theft (known as ‘plagiarism’ in academia).

How Do I Cite My Sources With The Cite This For Me Citation Machine?

Cite This For Me’s citation generator is the most accurate citation machine available, so whether you’re not sure how to format in-text citations or are looking for a foolproof solution to automate a fully-formatted works cited list, this citation machine will solve all of your referencing needs.

Referencing your source material doesn’t just prevent you from losing valuable marks for plagiarism, it also provides all of the information to help your reader find for themselves the book, article, or other item you are citing. The accessible interface of this citation builder makes it easy for you to identify the source you have used – simply enter its unique identifier into the citation machine search bar. If this information is not available you can search for the title or author instead, and then select from the search results that appear below the citation generator.

The good news is that by using tools such as Cite This For Me, which help you work smarter, you don’t need to limit your research to sources that are traditional to cite. In fact, there are no limits to what you can reference, whether it be a YouTube video, website or a tweet.

To use the works cited generator, simply:

• Select from APA, MLA, Chicago, ASA, IEEE and AMA * styles.
• Choose the type of source you would like to cite (e.g. website, book, journal, video).
• Enter the URL , DOI , ISBN , title, or other unique source information into the citation generator to find your source.
• Click the ‘Cite’ button on the citation machine.
• Copy your new reference from the citation generator into your bibliography or works cited list.
• Repeat for each source that has contributed to your work.

*If you require another referencing style for your paper, essay or other academic work, you can select from over 1,000 styles by creating a free Cite This For Me account.

Once you have created your Cite This For Me account you will be able to use the citation machine to generate multiple references and save them into a project. Use the highly-rated iOS or Android apps to create references in a flash with your smartphone camera, export your complete bibliography in one go, and much more.

What Will The Citation Machine Create For Me?

Cite This For Me’s citation maker will generate your reference in two parts; an in-text citation and a full reference to be copied straight into your work.

The citation machine will auto-generate the correct formatting for your works cited list or bibliography depending on your chosen style. For instance, if you select a parenthetical style on the citation machine it will generate an in-text citation in parentheses, along with a full reference to slot into your bibliography. Likewise, if the citation generator is set to a footnote style then it will create a fully-formatted reference for your reference page and bibliography, as well as a corresponding footnote to insert at the bottom of the page containing the relevant source.

Parenthetical referencing examples:

In-text example: A nation has been defined as an imagined community (Anderson, 2006).* Alternative format: Anderson (2006) defined a nation as an imagined community.

*The citation machine will create your references in the first style, but this should be edited if the author’s name already appears in the text.

Bibliography / Works Cited list example: Anderson, B. (2006). Imagined Communities. London: Verso.

Popular Citation Examples

• Citing archive material
• Citing artwork
• Citing an audiobook
• Citing the Bible
• Citing a blog
• Citing a book
• Citing a book chapter
• Citing a comic book
• Citing conference proceedings
• Citing a court case
• Citing a database
• Citing a dictionary entry
• Citing a dissertation
• Citing an eBook
• Citing an edited book
• Citing an email
• Citing an encyclopedia article
• Citing a government publication
• Citing an image
• Citing an interview
• Citing a journal article
• Citing legislation
• Citing a magazine
• Citing a meme
• Citing a mobile app
• Citing a movie
• Citing a newspaper
• Citing a pamphlet
• Citing a patent
• Citing a play
• Citing a podcast
• Citing a poem
• Citing a presentation
• Citing a press release
• Citing a pseudonym
• Citing a report
• Citing Shakespeare
• Citing social media
• Citing a song
• Citing software
• Citing a speech
• Citing translated book
• Citing a TV Show
• Citing a weather report
• Citing a website
• Citing Wikipedia article
• Citing a YouTube video

What Are Citation Styles?

A citation style is a set of rules that you, as an academic writer, must follow to ensure the quality and relevance of your work. There are thousands of styles that are used in different academic institutions around the world, but in the US the most common are APA, MLA and Chicago.

The style you need to use will depend on the preference of your professor, discipline or academic institution – so if you’re unsure which style you should be using, consult your department and follow their guidelines exactly, as this is what you’ll be evaluated on when it comes to grading.

Referencing isn’t just there to guard against plagiarism – presenting your research in a clear and consistent way eases the reader’s comprehension. Each style has a different set of rules for both page formatting and referencing. Be sure to adhere to formatting rules such as font type, font size and line spacing to ensure that your work is easily legible. Furthermore, if your work is published as part of an anthology or collected works, each entry will need to be presented in the same style to maintain uniformity throughout. It is important to make sure that you don’t jump from one style to another, so follow the rules carefully to ensure your reference page and bibliography are both accurate and complete.

If you need a hand with your referencing then why not try Cite This For Me’s citation builder? It’s the quickest and easiest way to reference any source, in any style. The citation generator above will create your references in MLA format style as standard, but this powerful citation machine can generate fully-formatted references in over 1,000 styles – including individual university variations of each style. So, whether your subject requires you to use the APA citation , or your professor has asked you to adopt the Chicago style citation so that your work includes numbered footnotes, we’re sure to have the style you need. Cite This For Me also offers a citation machine and helpful formatting guide for styles such as ASA , IEEE , AMA or Harvard . To access all of them, simply create your free Cite This For Me account and search for your specific style.

Popular Citation Styles

• ACS Referencing Generator
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How Do I Format A Works Cited List Or Bibliography?

Drawing on a wide range of sources greatly enhances the quality of your work, and reading above and beyond your recommended reading list – and then using these sources to support your own thesis – is an excellent way to impress your reader. A clearly presented works cited list or bibliography demonstrates the lengths you have gone to in researching your chosen topic.

Typically, a works cited list starts on a new page at the end of the main body of text and includes a complete list of the sources you have actually cited in your paper. This list should contain all the information needed for the reader to locate the original source of the information, quote or statistic that directly contributed to your work. On the other hand, a bibliography is a comprehensive list of all the material you may have consulted throughout your research and writing process. Both provide the necessary information for readers to retrieve and check the sources cited in your work.

Each style’s guidelines will define the terminology of ‘ works cited ’ and ‘ bibliography ’, as well as providing formatting guidelines for font, line spacing and page indentations. In addition, it will instruct you on how to order your works cited list or bibliography – this will usually be either alphabetical or chronological (meaning the order that these sources appear in your work). Before submitting your work, be sure to check that you have formatted your whole paper – including your reference page and bibliography – according to your style’s formatting guidelines.

Sounds complicated? Referencing has never been so easy; Cite This For Me’s citation machine will automatically generate fully-formatted references for your works cited page or bibliography in your chosen style.

How Do Citations Actually Work?

Although the citation generator will create your bibliography and works cited list for you in record time, it is still useful to understand how this system works behind the scenes. Understanding how a citation machine actually generates references will greatly increase the quality of your work.

As well as saving you time with its citation maker, Cite This For Me provides the learning resources to help you fully understand the citing process and the benefits of adopting great referencing standards.

The referencing process:

• Find a book, journal, website or other source that will contribute to your work.
• Save the quote, image, data or other information that you will use in your work.
• Save the source information that enables you to find it again (i.e. URL, ISBN, DOI etc.).
• Format the source information into a reference.
• Copy and paste the reference into the body of the text.
• Repeat for each source that contributes to your work.
• Export or copy and paste the fully-formatted reference into your bibliography.

Manage all your citations in one place

Create projects, add notes, cite directly from the browser and scan books’ barcodes with a mobile app.

Sign up to Cite This For Me – the ultimate citation management tool.

WRITING 322W Advanced Business Writing Karas

• Recommended Readings on AI
• Recommended Resources for Researching Topics
• Sources of Industry Graphics
• Recommended Databases for Finding Graphics
• Recommended Websites for Finding Graphics
• Evaluating Graphics
• Citing Research Materials Using APA
• Citing Graphics using APA
• Writer's Studio

Citing Research Materials using APA

• APA Reference Formats
• APA Reference Examples
• In-Text Citations

It may help to know why you are required to cite sources and why you are using the APA style guide for this course.

  Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the Power, “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”  Those writing and discoveries are known as "intellectual property." Merriam-Webster defines "intellectual property" as, "property (such as an idea, invention, or process) that derives from the work of the mind or intellect."  The U.S. government protects intellectual property. With some limits, you can draw on the ideas and words of others for use in your own work as a student and as a teacher as long as you credit sources appropriately. 

There are many citation styles including APA, MLA, and Chicago. This class uses APA. Citation styles lend themselves to use in specific disciplines. Read this article from Yale University to learn why scholars in different academic disciplines tend to prefer certain styles over others. 

Please call or email the library anytime you need help with references and citations.  The Reference Librarians will return your email within three business days with the information that you need or will set up an in-person appointment or a zoom appointment to provide further assistance.

Contact us:   [email protected]

"References" is the correct title for your list of sources. This list is arranged alphabetically by author last name. The first line of each reference is not indented. All other lines are indented. References should be double spaced.

Online Journal Article, including articles found in databases

Author Last name, First initial. (Publication Year). Article title.  Journal Title, Vol( Issue #), Page range. DOI 

Author Last name, First initial. (Year, Month, Day).  Page   Title.  Website title.   URL

Podcast Episode

Last name of host, First initial of host. (Host). (Year).  Title  [Audio podcast]. Producer. URL

Online Newspaper Article

Author Last name, First initial. (Year, Month, Day). Title of article.  Title of newspaper . URL

Author Last name, First initial. (Year).  Title and subtitle.  Publisher.

Author Last name, First initial. (Year). Title [eBook edition]. Publisher .  URL if applicable

Print Journal Article

Author Last name, First initial. (Publication Year). Article title.  Journal Title, Vol( Issue #), Page range. 

Photographer Last name, First initial. (Year photograph was taken).  Title or short description of      

       photograph  [Photograph]. Publication or name of website where you found the photograph. URL

Personal Communications

Interviews, emails, and other personal communications that can't be retrieved by the reader aren't included in the reference list, but they should be cited in-text.

(First initial Last name, personal communication, date).

If you state the name of the author in your narrative, the author name is omitted in the in-text citation.

(personal communication, date).

Click here  for further information about APA.  Source: George Mason University Writing Center

SadatHoseini, A., Shareinia, H., Pashaeypoor, S., & Mohammadi, M. (2023). A cross-cultural concept analysis of

    healing in nursing: a hybrid model.  BMC Nursing ,  22 (1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01404-8

Example with a named author:

Gilmore, Tayler. (2023, August 5).  NASA researchers measure sinking land in American Samoa.  NASA.       

    https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasa-researchers-measure-sinking-land-in-american-samoa/

Example with a group author:

American Psychological Association. (n.d.)  Disaster and response.   https://www.apa.org/topics/disasters-response

Podcast Episode 

Natisse, K.M. (Host). (2022).  Freedom diving   [Audio podcast]. NPR. 

      https://www.npr.org/2022/09/29/1126052986/freedom-diving

Smith, M. (2024, March 5). Jury selected for bounty hunt homicide trial in Butte.  Butte

Standard.  https://mtstandard.com/news/local/crime-courts/jury-selected-bounty-hunt-homicide-trial-

butte/article_cb77ddde-da76-11ee-a186-57c1a7d8cb1f.html

Example with one author:

French, S. (2016). Philosophy of science: key concepts. Bloomsbury Academic. 

Example with multiple authors:

Jackson, J., Mehl, J.P., & Neuendorf, K.E. (2005).  Glossary of geology.  American Geological Institute.

Isermann, R. (2011). Fault-diagnosis applications: model-based condition monitoring: actuators, drives, machinery,

     plants, sensors, and fault-tolerant systems. [eBook edition]. Springer. 10.1007/978-3-642-12767-0 

Smirnov, V. (1968). The sources of ore-forming material. Economic Geology,   63( 4), 380-389. 

Staplekamp, B. (2015). Lion drinking water. [Photograph]. National 

     Geographic.  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/cecil-african-lion-anniversary-death-trophy-hunting-

     zimbabwe

(K. Carroll, personal communication, March 5, 2024).

(personal communication, March 5, 2024).

Guidance from the APA Style Team

When a prompt is entered into a text-generating tool, the results may vary each time. Predictive text can't be recreated, so the APA Style Team doesn't regard the prompt itself as a useful piece of data. The APA Style Team encourages writers to include their prompts in their narrative text and to include the full text of the generated response in an appendix. 

APA  m odels references and citations of generated text from existing guidelines for referencing and citing software found in Chapter 10 of the 7th edition of the APA Style Guidelines. 

Reference Example

OpenAI. (2023).  ChatGPT  (Sept 1 version) [Large language model].  https://chat.openai.com/chat

In-Text Citation Examples

Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023) - or-  (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

In addition to a list of references at the end of a paper or presentation, APA format requires in-text citations. 

Paraphrasing:

When paraphrasing an idea from one of your references, you'll include the author and the year from the full reference entry on your reference page. APA does allow for the writer to also include page numbers when creating in-text citations in cases when the page number would be useful in helping the reader to locate the information in the source. Page numbers are generally useful when citing long works.

According to Carroll (2021), Public speaking becomes less stressful with practice.

Public speaking becomes less stressful with practice  (Carroll, 2021).

Quoting: 

When quoting directly from one of your references, you'll include the author, year, and page number (if there is a page number)  from the full reference entry on your reference page. 

According to Carroll (2021), "students often had difficulty sleeping the night before an exam" (p. 199).

Carroll (2021) found "students often had difficulty sleeping the night before an exam" (p. 199).

DOI stands for, "Digital Object Identifier." A DOI is a string of characters that is assigned to a written work or other type of object in order to identify the object.

The APA style guide calls for including a DOI in a reference entry when the DOI can be found. When searching Montana Tech's databases, many articles have a DOI posted in the bibliographic information, often alongside the author, title, and date of publication. 

A DOI is different than a URL in that a DOI is a permanent identifier. URLs can move, but DOIs will remain constant. The long-term goal of the DOI system is to be able to locate objects with one identifying piece of information. 

DOI Guidelines:

• APA reference entries should include a DOI or a URL for any digital content.
• When both the DOI and the URL can be located, use the DOI in the reference entry. Don't include both the DOI and the URL. 
• If a DOI can't be located for digital content, do include the URL in the reference entry.
• The DOI or URL belong at the end of a reference entry.
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Accounting for Competing Risks in Clinical Research

• 1 Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 2 Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 3 Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 4 NHS Blood and Transplant, Bristol, United Kingdom
• 5 Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
• Original Investigation Metformin or Sulfonylurea Use in Kidney Disease Christianne L. Roumie, MD, MPH; Jonathan Chipman, PhD; Jea Young Min, PharmD, MPH, PhD; Amber J. Hackstadt, PhD; Adriana M. Hung, MD, MPH; Robert A. Greevy Jr, PhD; Carlos G. Grijalva, MD, MPH; Tom Elasy, MD, MPH; Marie R. Griffin, MD, MPH JAMA

Survival analyses are statistical methods for the analysis of time-to-event outcomes. 1 An example is time from study entry to death. A competing risk is an event whose occurrence precludes the occurrence of the primary event of interest. In a study whose outcome is time to death due to cardiovascular causes, for instance, death due to a noncardiovascular cause is a competing risk. Conventional statistical methods for the analysis of survival data typically aim to estimate the probability of the event of interest over time or the effect of a risk factor or treatment on that probability or on the intensity with which events occur. These methods require modification in the presence of competing risks. A key feature of survival analysis is the ability to properly account for censoring, which occurs when the outcome event is not observed before the end of the study participant’s follow-up period.

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Austin PC , Ibrahim M , Putter H. Accounting for Competing Risks in Clinical Research. JAMA. 2024;331(24):2125–2126. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.4970

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• The Basics of In-Text Citation | APA & MLA Examples

The Basics of In-Text Citation | APA & MLA Examples

Published on March 14, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on February 28, 2024.

An in-text citation is a short acknowledgement you include whenever you quote or take information from a source in academic writing. It points the reader to the source so they can see where you got your information.

In-text citations most commonly take the form of short parenthetical statements indicating the author and publication year of the source, as well as the page number if relevant.

We also offer a free citation generator and in-depth guides to the main citation styles.

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Table of contents

What are in-text citations for, when do you need an in-text citation, types of in-text citation, frequently asked questions about in-text citations.

The point of an in-text citation is to show your reader where your information comes from. Including citations:

• Avoids plagiarism by acknowledging the original author’s contribution
• Allows readers to verify your claims and do follow-up research
• Shows you are engaging with the literature of your field

Academic writing is seen as an ongoing conversation among scholars, both within and between fields of study. Showing exactly how your own research draws on and interacts with existing sources is essential to keeping this conversation going.

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An in-text citation should be included whenever you quote or paraphrase a source in your text.

Quoting means including the original author’s words directly in your text, usually introduced by a signal phrase . Quotes should always be cited (and indicated with quotation marks), and you should include a page number indicating where in the source the quote can be found.

Paraphrasing means putting information from a source into your own words. In-text citations are just as important here as with quotes, to avoid the impression you’re taking credit for someone else’s ideas. Include page numbers where possible, to show where the information can be found.

However, to avoid over-citation, bear in mind that some information is considered common knowledge and doesn’t need to be cited. For example, you don’t need a citation to prove that Paris is the capital city of France, and including one would be distracting.

Different types of in-text citation are used in different citation styles . They always direct the reader to a reference list giving more complete information on each source.

Author-date citations (used in APA , Harvard , and Chicago author-date ) include the author’s last name, the year of publication, and a page number when available. Author-page citations (used in MLA ) are the same except that the year is not included.

Both types are divided into parenthetical and narrative citations. In a parenthetical citation , the author’s name appears in parentheses along with the rest of the information. In a narrative citation , the author’s name appears as part of your sentence, not in parentheses.

Note: Footnote citations like those used in Chicago notes and bibliography are sometimes also referred to as in-text citations, but the citation itself appears in a note separate from the text.

An in-text citation is an acknowledgement you include in your text whenever you quote or paraphrase a source. It usually gives the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number of the relevant text. In-text citations allow the reader to look up the full source information in your reference list and see your sources for themselves.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.

• APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
• MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
• Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
• Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.

Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.

The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.

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Caulfield, J. (2024, February 28). The Basics of In-Text Citation | APA & MLA Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/in-text-citation-styles/

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LES 401: Legal Research and Citation

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Use this guide to identify library databases and get research guidance (see navigation menu) for your LES 401 class. Each page includes general research guidance and recommended resources.

Contact a librarian to ask an accounting research question or  set up an appointment .

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Database Quick Links

• JSTOR Archival Journal & Primary Source Collection This link opens in a new window The JSTOR Archival Journal & Primary Source Collection provides access to all licensed JSTOR archival journals and primary sources content in a single collection. It includes all 2,800+ academic journals on JSTOR that span more than 60 disciplines across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, along with millions of primary sources across four collections.
• Project MUSE This link opens in a new window Full-text articles from scholarly journals in history, the humanities, the social sciences, and the sciences. Disciplines covered include literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others. Searches can be conducted across the full text of all journals in the database.
• Newspapers - U. S. Major Dailies This link opens in a new window This database cross searches the major U.S. newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.
• Statistical Insight This link opens in a new window Access to tables and citations to statistics produced by the U.S. federal, state and local governments, international governmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations.
• Google Scholar This link opens in a new window Searching Google Scholar using this link allows current UIS students, faculty, and staff to access full text of subscription required sources as well as information freely available online.
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• Last Updated: Sep 9, 2024 7:16 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uis.edu/c.php?g=1423227