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How Do I Cite Sources?
When doing ANYTHING with information you didn't make yourself, you have to say where it came from. Learn how to do it correctly.
Purdue OWL(Online Writing Lab)
Purdue OWL(Online Writing Lab)
Purdue OWL is a resource from Purdue University that provides free, easily understood information about how and when to cite most sources. Use the headings on the left side of the page to help you find the types of citation (and examples!) that you need
EasyBib.com
EasyBib.com
EasyBib.com is a website that will help guide you make an MLA citation for your sources. It can be tricky to use, and there are a lot of ads, but is helpful because you won't have to remember all of the different rules on your own.
What is the MLA Format?
What is the MLA Format?
The MLA format is primarily used by students and researchers working in the humanities. Other common formats are Chicago and APA. Make sure you are using the format your teacher asks for.
These are the necessary elements of any citation:
**Pay attention to order and punctuation!**
Author. Title. Title of container (not for books),
Other contributors (translators, editors), Version (edition),
Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication date,
Location (page numbers, URL or DOI). Date of Access (if
applicable).
Common Types of Citations
Common Types of Citations
Full Citations
Full Citations
These contain all of the necessary information about a source that you used and are included in a bibliography or works-cited page at the end of a larger work (like an essay or presentation). They let your readers know exactly where you found all of the information you found in your research
Book
Klien, Naomi. How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2021.
Website
Cohen, Josh. Sorry you feel that way: why passive aggression took over the world. The Economist, 21 Nov. 2023, https://www.economist.com/1843/2023/11/21/sorry-you-feel-that-way- why-passive-aggression-took-over-the-world. Accessed 21 November 2023.
Article in an online database
Steingo, Gavin. "African Afro-futurism: Allegories and Speculations."
Current Musicology, no. 99, spring-summer 2017, pp. 45+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A566112446/AONE?u=nysl_ca_dmvacces&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=cbeefcf1. Accessed 4 May 2021.
In-Text Citations
In-Text Citations
These are a shorthand for full citations. They are used within the text of a paper or a presentation so that your reader knows that you are quoting or paraphrasing the work of someone else. In-text citations should contain just enough information so that your reader can find the source if they look in your bibliography, but not so much that it makes your work difficult to read. Make sure you are using the format your teacher asks for.
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You can reference a source in the text of your essay, and include the page number where necessary in parentheses. For example:
As Howard Zinn points out in his book, A People's History of the United States, "when the war in Mexico began, New York workingmen called a meeting to oppose the war." (159)
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Or, you can provide a parenthetical citation with the author's last name and the page number the quotation comes from:
"When the war in Mexico began, New York workingmen called a meeting to oppose the war." (Zinn, 159)
***
Use either method of in-text citation, even if you are paraphrasing the source and not directly quoting it!
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