Citation styles are sets of rules for properly attributing source material in your academic work. Different disciplines tend to use different citation styles. For example:
- MLA style is typically used by the Humanities
- APA style is often used by Education, Psychology, and Business.
- Chicago/Turabian is generally used by History and some of the Fine Arts
Why do we cite?
- To give credit:
- Properly attribute intellectual property to the creator.
- Avoid consequences of plagiarism and violating the academic honor code.
- To enhance your credibility as a scholar:
- Provide evidence in support of your argument.
- Demonstrate that you are knowledgeable on a particular topic.
- Refute a potential counter-argument.
- To establish shared understanding:
- Provide your audience with helpful background information.
When do we cite?
- Every time you use content that you did not create
- For example:
- direct quotes: copy and paste of what someone else has said or written.
- paraphrases: when you take 1-2 sentences from a source and put them in your own words (still requires an in-text citation).
How do we cite?
How exactly you cite your sources will depend on the citation style you are using.
However, all citation styles have two components:
- An in-text citation: some kind of indication in the body of your work that tells your audience exactly when you are referencing source material. For instance, in MLA and APA style, the in-text citation is a parenthetical. For example: (Smith, 1999) or (Smith 23).
- A complete citation entry: all of the publication information for a particular source. Complete citation entries are like addresses for your sources; they will appear in your Works Cited, References, Footnotes, or Bibliography.
The in-text citation and your citation entry work in tandem to signal to your audience that you are citing a source and to give them all the information they need to locate the source for themselves.
Tutoring & Writing Center Director
Layne Porta
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