Citing or documenting the sources used in a research paper is vital for academic integrity and avoiding accusations of plagiarism. Learning how to properly attribute information and write citations shows respect for other scholars’ work and intellectual property.
The three major style guides in academia outline exact specifications for crediting source materials in manuscripts Mastering these citation formats takes your scholarship to the next level
Read this guide for a stress-free introduction to citing research papers using MLA, APA, and Chicago styles
Why Citing Sources is Crucial in Academic Writing
Properly citing sources serves essential ethical and academic purposes:
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Avoids Plagiarism – Directly quoting or paraphrasing another’s work without attribution is unethical and often illegal. Citations clearly distinguish your ideas from prior research.
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Strengthens Credibility – Correct citations document your thorough research process and validate facts, data, and assertions.
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Enables Further Research – The trail of sources allows readers to easily locate your references for further study.
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Demonstrates Respect for Intellectual Property – Giving credit formally recognizes authors’ contributions and legal rights to original material.
In academia, failing to properly cite research could lead to severe disciplinary consequences so it should be mastered before submitting any manuscripts for publication. Developing solid citing skills also enhances the authority and persuasiveness of your work.
Overview of Major Citation Styles
There are many ways to formally cite sources, but the three dominant formats in research are:
MLA Style
- Published by the Modern Language Association
- Used in humanities and liberal arts papers
APA Style
- Published by the American Psychological Association
- Used in social sciences papers
Chicago/Turabian Style
- Published in The Chicago Manual of Style and Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers
- Used in history, economics, and some humanities papers
The styles have similar elements but differ in the details for footnotes, endnotes, in-text citations, and reference pages. Follow your professor’s or publisher’s guidelines on which format is preferred.
Core Components of Citations in All Styles
Despite their differences, citations in MLA, APA and Chicago formats contain basic common elements.
Source Identifiers:
- Author name(s)
- Article title
- Journal/book title
- Publisher
- Publication date
- Page numbers
Location Indicators:
- In-text/parenthetical citations
- Footnotes/endnotes
- Works cited/reference list entries
Formatting varies but all citations include core data needed to identify and find each source.
How to Cite a Print Journal Article in MLA Style
Citing a journal article in MLA style uses parenthetical in-text citations and a Works Cited list entry.
In-Text Citations
The basic format is:
(Author Last Name Page Number)
Example:
(Chan 12)
For multiple authors, list up to 3 names separated by commas:
(Chan, Peters, and Smith 15)
For 4+ authors, use “et al.” after the first name:
(Chan et al. 18)
Works Cited Entry
The Works Cited entry for a print journal article contains:
- Author’s Last name, First name.
- “Title of Article.”
- Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages.
See below for an example:
Chan, Violet. “16th Century Fashion.” Journal of Historical Clothing, vol. 12, no. 2, 2015, pp. 12-18.
Follow punctuation, formatting, and order precisely in MLA citations.
How to Cite a Print Journal Article in APA Style
Citing a print article in APA style uses parenthetical in-text citations and complete Reference List entries.
In-Text Citations
The basic APA in-text citation format is:
(Author, Year)
Examples:
(Li, 2020)
(Smith & Johnson, 2019)
For 3-5 authors, list all names in the first citation:
(Li, Smith, Johnson & Peters, 2020)
In subsequent citations use “et al.”:
(Li et al., 2020)
Reference List Entry
APA Reference list entries include:
- Author Last name, First initial.
- (Year).
- Article title.
- Journal Title, Volume(Issue), page range.
For example:
Chan, V. (2015). 16th century fashion. Journal of Historical Clothing, 12(2), 12-18.
Note the article title is not italicized and sentence case is used in APA style.
How to Cite a Print Journal Article in Chicago Style
Chicago style citations use footnotes or endnotes plus a Bibliography entry.
Footnotes/Endnotes
The footnote structure is:
- Firstname Lastname, “Title of Article,” Journal Title Volume Number, No. Issue Number (Year): Page range.
The first footnote example is:
- Violet Chan, “16th Century Fashion,” Journal of Historical Clothing 12, no. 2 (2015): 12-18.
Abbreviate subsequent footnotes:
- Chan, “16th Century Fashion,” 15.
Bibliography Entry
The full Bibliography entry format is:
Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Article.” Journal Title Volume Number, No. Issue Number (Year): Page range.
For example:
Chan, Violet. “16th Century Fashion.” Journal of Historical Clothing 12, no. 2 (2015): 12-18.
Chicago style allows some formatting flexibility but be consistent.
Key Rules When Citing Journal Articles
Follow these rules and tips when citing scholarly articles:
- Always check your style guide for precise punctuation, order of elements, and formatting. These details matter!
- Use authors’ full names in your citations rather than abbreviations.
- Include the article title but omit initial words like “The” or “A”. Enclose it in quotation marks.
- Italicize the journal name but not the article title. Omit “The” here too.
- For anonymous authors, use “Anonymous” or “Anon.”
- Use p. or pp. to denote page numbers. Include specific page ranges.
- Order reference list entries alphabetically by authors’ last names.
Practice is Key for Mastering Citing Styles
Learning citation style guidelines takes patience and practice. Start by citing commonly used sources like journal articles and books.
Refer to your chosen style guide’s latest edition for comprehensive rules and reference examples.
Use handy citation generators like EasyBib and Zotero to help build correctly formatted citations until you become comfortable creating them yourself manually.
Set a reasonable goal for memorizing key citation elements and formats. Eventually citing sources will feel simple and automatic with experience. Don’t let the specifics overwhelm or deter you from proper scholarly attribution.
Why Accurate Citations Should Always Be a Scholarly Priority
As you progress in academia, make responsibly citing sources a top priority with every piece of writing. The ethical, practical and credibility benefits are well worth the efforts to present research clearly.
Use this guide as a citations starter kit and to instill citation best practices early on. Mastering citation precision takes your academic accomplishments and integrity to the next level while respectfully honoring those who paved the way.
Citation Help
- Question How to cite a website if doesnt have an author or date?
SnowyDay Community Answer If it didnt have an author or date, add the title of the article and the website link. - Question When I search for information online, how do I reference such material? SnowyDay Community Answer At the bottom of your report, you would write a bibliography. That would have the name of the article and website. If you mean when do you need to reference it in the middle of the report, you would write something like: “Johnny Appleseed from the Antarctica Daily says…”.
- Question How do you cite a website? SnowyDay Community Answer Write the name of the website and the link to the site, and the name of the article.
- If you used a manual as a source in your research paper, youll need to learn how to cite the manual also. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- If you use any figures in your research paper, youll also need to know the proper way to cite them in MLA, APA, AMA, or Chicago. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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To cite a paper APA style, start with the authors last name and first initial, and the year of publication. Then, list the title of the paper, where you found it, and the date that you accessed it. In a paper, use a parenthetical reference with the last name of the author and the publication year. For an MLA citation, list the authors last name and then first name and the title of the paper in quotations. Include where you accessed the paper and the date you retrieved it. In your paper, use a parenthetical reference with the authors last name and the page number. Keep reading for tips on Chicago and AMA citations and exceptions to the citation rules!
Citation for Beginners
How do you cite a source in a research paper?
And it’s in alphabetical order by author name. Each source should only appear once in your reference list, no matter how many times you’ve referred to it in your assignment. The main referencing style in use of the Open University is Cite Them Right Harvard. And it’s used in most modules.
When should a citation be included?
An in-text citation should be included whenever you quote or paraphrase a source in your text. Quoting means including the original author’s words directly in your text, usually introduced by a signal phrase.
How do you cite a literature review paper?
For most papers, cite one or two of the most representative sources for each key point. Literature review papers, however, typically include a more exhaustive list of references. Provide appropriate credit to the source (e.g., by using an in-text citation) whenever you do the following:
