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Citation Guide: MLA, APA, Turabian, ASA: Citation Guide

A guide to basic elements of citation.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

  • Define citation
  • Identify sources that need citation
  • Construct citations for basic sources (book and article) using a citation style
  • Construct a "Works Cited" or "References" page for an academic paper

Citation Guides

Citation Basics

Citation shows your readers that the information you used in your paper is from another source. When you cite you are giving credit to the original author. Citation also shows your readers how they can locate the sources that you've used in your work, including:

  • the author
  • title of the text or article
  • publisher of the work
  • dates the source material was published
  • website or database where the material was found
  • page numbers
  • references to other researchers or research

You must acknowledge your sources when you borrow their words or ideas. Always cite your sources when you:

  • Use direct quotes from another author's work
  • Use ideas from another author's work, but in your own words (paraphrasing)
  • Specifically reference another person's work or ideas
  • Borrow a figure, image, or table
  • Borrow an author's ideas

You can provide in-text citation for the above situations using either MLA or APA citation formats. Always check with your professor regarding which citation format you should use.

There are some instances when you do NOT have to cite:

  • Writing your own personal experiences
  • Using your own images, figures or art work
  • Using "common knowledge" such as folklore, common sense observations, myths, urban legends, and historical events (but not historical documents)
  • Writing your own results based on findings from your own research
  • Using generally-accepted facts, e.g., overeating is bad for your health

Librarian

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In-text (parenthetical) citation

Instruction on how to integrate quotes, paraphrases, and summaries into your writing from the University of Michigan Writing Center