Citation Help

Welcome to our Citation Help Guide!

🔍Why Cite?

Citing sources is a fundamental part of academic writing in college, but also we cite for the following reasons:

• To provide "receipts":  Citations allow your readers to trace back to the original source of your information.
• To avoid plagiarism:  Plagiarism can lead to academic penalties, including dismissal.  Citing sources properly helps you give credit where it’s due and avoid unintentional plagiarism.
• To ethically conversate:  It’s just good ethics to give credit to the original authors.  Ethical citation practices strengthen your role in academic conversations.

📖Choosing a Citation Style

Different disciplines have different preferences for citation styles. APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) are two of the most commonly used styles, but your instructor might request another, like Chicago or CSE.  Citation styles are outlined in style guides that provide rules for formatting documents and citing sources.

Need a different citation style?  Consult with a librarian for additional guidance.

📚Getting Started

To create citations for your paper, start with these steps:

• Determine what citation style your instructor requires: APA, MLA, or Chicago.
• Identify the type of document you’re citing: book, chapter, reference entry, journal article, magazine article, or government document. Ask a librarian if you’re unsure.
• Gather the key elements of the source like Author(s), date of publication, title of source, title of container like book, journal, or website, name of the container that provides access to the source like a database, and the direct link to the item if online.
• Use the tabs to find a style example and format your citation in APA, MLA, or Chicago.