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Whenever you use any ideas or words from a book, article, video, etc., you need to cite that source. You will cite your sources in two places.
(1) In-text citations identify the specific quotes and ideas that come from each source. These are brief, essentially directing readers to the full citations on the Works Cited page.
(2) Full citations appear on a Works Cited page, which appears at the end of your essay. These citations give readers everything they need to locate your source if they want to: the author's full name, the title, the edition, the publication date, etc.
In-Text Citations
In-Text Citations
Source Types
Source Types
Novels, Short Stories, and Articles
Novels, Short Stories, and Articles
Cite with the author’s last name followed by the page number(s).
(Lee 36).
(Heker 3-4).
The period comes AFTER the citation when used at the end of a sentence.
Source Types
Source Types
Plays
Plays
Cite with the playwright’s name followed by the act, scene, and line numbers.
(Shakespeare I.ii.35-36)
(Shakespeare 1.2.35-36)
Note: You can use either Roman numerals or regular numbers. These are both citations for Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 35-36.
Source Types
Source Types
Poems
Poems
Cite with the poet’s last name followed by the line number(s).
(Frost 1-2)
Note: Use a slash to indicate line breaks: “Line / Line” (Frost 1-2).
Missing Information
Missing Information
No Author
No Author
If there is no author, include the first few words of the title instead. The first few words of the Works Cited page entry should be used to identify the source. Usually, that's the author, so when there isn't an author, it's the title.
(Beowulf 320)
(“Love Is Not All” 2)
No Numbers
No Numbers
If there are no page numbers, omit that part of the citation. This is the case for most online sources.
(Lott)
Different Numbers
Different Numbers
If there are no page numbers, but there are numbered chapters or paragraphs, you can use those instead. Use "ch." for a chapter number and "par." for a paragraph number.
(Lee, ch. 2)
(Smith, par. 6)
Works Cited Pages
Works Cited Pages
Page Setup
Page Setup
New Page
New Page
Insert a page break to get to the top of a new page. Use
Control-Enter on a pc
Command-Enter on a mac
Spacing
Spacing
Double space the whole page. Don’t skip lines between entries.
Alphabetical Order
Alphabetical Order
Alphabetize based on the first letter(s) in each entry (usually the first letter of the author’s last name).
Title
Title
Center align your cursor and title your page exactly like this: Works Cited
Hanging Indent
Hanging Indent
Citations are formatted using something called a hanging indent. This means that the first line of each citation is not indented but all other lines are indented 0.5 inches. You need to be on a computer to set these up correctly.
The blue triangle circled in the image controls the indent of every line after the first. Drag it over to the 0.5 inch mark. (The rectangle will come with it; that’s okay.)
The blue rectangle circled in the image controls each entry’s first line. This should not be indented, so drag it back to where it started.
Check that your citation matches the example.
Model
Model
Citation Format for Articles and Books
Citation Format for Articles and Books
Note that these are not spaced or indented correctly because of website formatting limitations.
Online Article
Online Article
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article title.” Publication Title, Publication Date (Day Month Year), url. Access date (Day Month Year).
Example
Lott, Tim. “Love Is Not All You Need in a Marriage.” The Guardian, 20 April 2013, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/20/love-not-all-need-marriage. Accessed 15 May 2018.
Short Story
Short Story
Author’s Last Name, First Name. "Title of Story." Original Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.
Book
Book
Author’s Last Name, First Name. "Title of chapter or section." Title of Book. translated or edited by First Name Last name. Vol. number, City of Publication, Publisher, Year the book was published, page numbers.
Example
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1960.
Additional Notes
Additional Notes
If an article doesn’t have something (an author, date, etc.), just skip that piece in your citation. If there is no author, the title will appear first in your citation.
The access date is when you went to the website. If you go to the website and it exists, today is your access date.
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