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ENG W240 Community Service Writing

Cite Sources: Page Contents

Remember all your sources must be cited. This includes images and video.

  • What Is Citation?
  • Citing Sources
  • Deconstructing Citations (Tutorial)
  • MLA Citation Examples
  • APA Citation Examples
  • Chicago Citation Examples
  • Cite a Source: How and Why (Video)
  • Quoting vs Paraphrasing
  • Citation Managers
  • More Resources

What Is Citation?

Citation involves properly crediting the authors of information sources used in a paper or presentation. 

Different disciplines use certain citation styles. Use one of the style guides to the right for the citation guidelines you need.

Citing Sources

Always cite your sources. Follow these Quick Style Guides or the complete style manuals.

Quick Style Guides

 

Full Style Manuals
Most citation questions can be answered with the quick guides above. For more specific questions, refer to these full manuals, or consult a librarian.

Deconstructing Citations (Tutorial)

Deconstructing Citations
  more info

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MLA Citation Examples

In text citation

Known Author:
(Wordsworth 263)
example: Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Unknown Author
("Impact of Global Warming" 6)
example: [T]his region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . ." ("Impact of Global Warming" 6).

Reference List

Electronic Journal Article:
Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal 6.2 (2008): n. pag. Web. 20 May 2009.

Print Journal:
Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 15.1 (1996): 41-50. Print.

Book:
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

*example taken from the Purdue Owl site. 

APA Citation Examples

In-Text Citation Examples

Known Author: (Smith, 2000, p. 123)
Example: The author found that cars go fast (Smith, 2000, p. 123).

Unknown Author: ("Using APA," 2001)
example: A similar study was done of students learning to format research papers ("Using APA," 2001).

Reference List

Electronic Journal Article:
Smith, A. B., & Jones, C. D. (2005). Volunteer support of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24(2), 225-229. doi:10.1122/333444555666777

Print Journal:
Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5-13.

Book:
Smith, A. (2000). Cars go fast. New York, NY: Good Publishing, Inc.

*Examples taken from the Purdue OWL site and IU's APA Style: A Quick Guide. 

Chicago Citation Examples

Footnote or Endnote

Books:

Known Author:
1. William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! (New York: Vintage Books, 1990), 271.
Unknown Author:
2. Economies of Signs & Space (London: Sage Publications, 1994), 241-51.

Electronic Journals:

Known Author:
3. Henry E. Bent, “Professionalization of the Ph.D. Degree,” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 141, accessed December 5, 2008, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1978286.
Unknown Author:
4. “Professionalization of the Ph.D. Degree,” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 141, accessed December 5, 2008, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1978286.

Reference List

Electronic Journal Article:
Bent, Henry E. "Professionalization of the Ph.D. Degree.” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 0-145. Accessed December 5, 2008. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1978286.
Print Journal:
MacDonald, Susan Peck. “The Erasure of Language.” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 585-625.
Book:
Danziger, Susan. Slicing up the Pie: Getting a Bigger Half. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.

*example taken from the Purdue Owl site. 

Cite a Source: How & Why

Quoting vs. Paraphrasing

Many of your assignments require use of both direct quotes and paraphrases.
Both quotes and paraphrases must be cited. 

Direct quotes are word-for-word quotations.
Cite them with quotation marks and an in-text citation. 

   e.g., The Gettyburg Address opens "Four score and seven years ago" (Lincoln, 1863, p. #). 

Paraphrases restate someone else's ideas in your own words.
Cite with an in-text citation.

   e.g., The Gettysburg Address opens by looking to past decades (Lincoln, 1863, p. #). 

Citation Managers

Citation managers format references in the style you choose (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).

IU students have free access to several citation managers (i.e., "bibliographic software").

NOTE: Always check the accuracy of citations created through these tools. They can be very helpful, but may make mistakes.

Citation Managers at IU

More Resources