Citing sources properly is a crucial skill for any writer, whether you’re a student, researcher, or professional. When you cite sources, you give credit to the original authors for their ideas, research, and work that you have incorporated into your own writing.
Proper citation using APA or MLA guides also helps your readers locate the sources you have used, allowing them to verify the information or explore the topic further. Failing to properly cite your sources counts as plagiarism since you’re presenting someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.
When do you need to cite sources?
Citations are a critical component of all types of academic writing. They serve several important purposes:
- Preventing plagiarism by clearly indicating when you’re incorporating information from another source
- Giving proper credit to the original author of that source
- Enabling readers to locate and consult your sources for further research
You need to include a citation whenever you integrate information from a source into your own writing. This is typically done through quoting or paraphrasing:
- Quoting involves copying a short text word for word and enclosing it in quotation marks.
- Paraphrasing involves restating the text in your own words. It’s crucial that your paraphrase is not too similar to the original wording to avoid plagiarism.
Citations are required for all types of sources, whether you quote or paraphrase. In addition to citing traditional scholarly sources like books and journal articles, remember to include citations for any other sources you use to support your ideas, provide examples, or present evidence.
Which citation style should you use?
The citation style you should use depends on your discipline, university requirements, or the preference of your instructor, publisher, or audience. Different citation styles have specific rules for formatting in-text citations and reference lists. The most commonly used citation styles are:
| Citation Style | Discipline | In-text Citation Format | Reference List Emphasis |
| APA | Social sciences, education, psychology | (Author, Year) | Publication year |
| MLA | Humanities, particularly in language and literature studies | (Author Page) | Author’s name and page number |
| Chicago | History, business, fine arts | ¹Author, Title, Page. | Two citation systems: notes and bibliography, and author-date. Example footnote citation: ¹John Smith, The Art of Citation (New York: Citation Press, 2021), 25. |
| IEEE | Engineering, computer science | [Number] | Numbered in-text citations |
When choosing a citation style, consider the following:
- Consult your instructor, department, or university guidelines
- Identify the style most commonly used in your field of study
- Be consistent throughout your entire document
In-text citations
In-text citations are brief references within the body of your paper that direct readers to the full citation in your reference list or bibliography. They are required whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize information from another source. The format of in-text citations varies depending on the citation style you are using.
Parenthetical citation (APA)
In-text citations are most frequently formatted as parenthetical citations that include the last name of the author and the publication year of the source. This format is known as the author-date citation style.
Example
The study found that “the majority of participants reported experiencing increased levels of stress during the pandemic” (Johnson, 2021, p. 45).
In this example, the author’s last name (Johnson) and the publication year (2021) are included within parentheses at the end of the sentence, along with the page number (p. 45) for a direct quotation.
Numerical citation (Vancouver)
In contrast to the author-date citation style, numerical citation styles employ a different approach to in-text citations. Instead of including the author’s name and publication year within parentheses, a number is inserted into the text. This number corresponds to a specific entry in a numbered reference list, typically placed at the end of the document.
Example
The study found that “the majority of participants reported experiencing increased levels of stress during the pandemic” [1].
In this example, the number [1] is inserted into the text immediately after the quotation. This number corresponds to the first entry in the reference list, which would provide the complete details of the source cited. As more sources are cited throughout the paper, the numbers in the text increment accordingly, always matching the order of the sources in the reference list.
Note citation (Chicago)
Note citation styles allow you to place your citations in footnotes (at the bottom of each page) or endnotes (at the end of the document). These citation styles provide more flexibility in terms of the amount of information included in each citation.
Since the citations are not directly embedded within the text, they can offer more detailed information about the source without interrupting the flow of the document. Footnotes and endnotes are indicated in the text by superscript numbers, which correspond to the numbered citations at the bottom of the page or end of the document.
In some cases, when using note citation styles, a full reference list or bibliography may not be required, as the notes themselves can provide sufficient information about the sources cited.
Example
The study found that “the majority of participants reported experiencing increased levels of stress during the pandemic”¹.
¹Amanda Johnson, “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health,” Journal of Psychological Research 12, no. 3 (2021): 45.
In this example, the superscript number “1” is placed in the text after the quotation. The corresponding footnote or endnote provides the complete citation information, including the author’s full name, article title, journal name, volume, issue, publication year, and page number.
Reference lists and bibliographies
A reference list, also known as a “Bibliography” or “Works Cited” depending on the citation style, is an essential component of your paper where you provide complete information for each source you’ve cited within the text. This list appears at the end of your document, typically with each entry formatted using a hanging indent.
Regardless of the citation style you’re using, the information included in reference entries is generally similar. For each source, you’ll usually include the following details:
- Author’s name
- Title of the work
- Date of publication
- Container (e.g., the book in which an essay was published, or the journal where an article appeared)
- Publisher
- Location (e.g., a URL or DOI for online sources, or sometimes a physical location for print sources)
The specific information included may vary depending on the type of source and the citation style being used. Additionally, the order in which the information is presented and the formatting (e.g., capitalization, italicization) will also differ based on the style guide.
In most cases, the entries in your reference list are arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name. This organization makes it easy for readers to locate the relevant entry based on the author’s name provided in your in-text citation.
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In citation styles that use numerical references, such as IEEE or Vancouver, the entries in your reference list are numbered based on the order in which they are first cited within the text. Instead of organizing the reference list alphabetically by author name, the sources are listed in numerical order, corresponding to the sequence of their appearance in the document.
When a reader encounters a numbered citation in the text, they can easily locate the corresponding entry in the reference list by finding the matching number. This system allows for quick and efficient identification of the full bibliographic information for each source.
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Other useful citation tools
In addition to understanding the basics of citation styles and formatting, there are several tools and resources available to help you manage your citations and create accurate reference lists or bibliographies. Some of these useful citation tools include:
- Plagiarism checkers
- Citation checkers
- Citation editing services
Plagiarism checkers
Plagiarism checkers, such as Turnitin, Grammarly, and Unicheck, can help you identify potential instances of plagiarism in your work by comparing your writing to a vast database of online sources and previously submitted papers. While these tools can be useful in ensuring that you have properly cited all sources and paraphrased effectively, it’s important to review the results carefully, as false positives can occur.
Citation checkers
Another useful resource is citation checkers, which are often included in citation management tools and online generators. These tools can help you identify and correct errors or inconsistencies in your citations and reference list, such as checking for proper formatting, missing information, and potential typos. However, it’s still crucial to manually review your citations for accuracy.
Citation editing services
Finally, some professional editing services offer citation editing as a standalone service or as part of a larger editing package. These services can be particularly helpful for longer works, such as dissertations or books, where citation management can be more complex. However, it’s important to keep in mind that these services can be costly, and it’s essential to choose a reputable provider.