How to Cite | Citation Elements

In this section, you'll find:

• Information on the elements that make up a citation

Format

In academic writing, you cite each source in two places: in the body of the paper, when you refer to another person's work or ideas, and at the end of the paper in a full list of all of your sources.

In-text citations

 When you quote or paraphrase someone else's words or ideas, you cite their work within the paper. In-text citations can be

• Parenthetical, or in parentheses ()
• Footnotes, or numbered notes that appear on the same page as the quote or paraphrase
• Endnotes, or numbered notes that appear at the end of your paper, before the full list of your sources

Full list of sources

At the end of your paper is a full list of all of your sources. Depending on the citation style you're using, this list can be called 

• Works Cited
• References
• Bibliography

Parts of a Citation

While citations from different styles will look different, they all contain the same elements:

• Author Name(s)
• Title
• Source Title
• Publication information, such as
  • Publisher
  • Date
  • Volume & Issue
  • Page Number(s)
  • Format
• Location (links or DOIs)

See if you can spot each of those elements in the citation examples below:

MLA

Watson, Alex P. "Still a Mixed Bag: A Study of First-year Composition Students' Internet Citations at the University of Mississippi." Reference Services Review, vol. 40, no.1, 2012, pp. 125-137. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1108/00907321211203685. 

APA

Watson, A.P. (2012). Still a mixed bag: A study of first-year composition students' internet citations at the University of Mississippi. Reference Services Review, 40(1), 125-137. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907321211203685

Chicago (Notes & Bibliography)

Watson, Alex P. "Still a Mixed Bag: A Study of First-year Composition Students' Internet Citations at the University of Mississippi." Reference Services Review 40, no. 1 (2012): 125-137. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907321211203685.