how to set out references in an essay

Lynn University

• Paper Templates
• Academic Posters
• Citation Generators
• Multi-touch Books@Lynn
• Journal Articles
• Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
• News Sources
• Canvas Materials (PowerPoint Slides)
• Business Databases
• Reports & Case Studies
• Social Media
• Audio & Visual Works
• Interviews & Personal Communications
• Legal Documents
• Generative AI (Chat GPT)

Quick Guide to APA Citations

☑ include both parts of the apa citation:.

In-text citations (placed in your paper wherever you are quoting or paraphrasing a source) Reference list citations (placed at the end of your paper in an alphabetized reference list)  

☑ If you quote OR paraphrase a source, you must cite it.

"Paraphrasing" includes describing someone else's idea in your own words.   A quotation requires a "locator" which is the exact page number or paragraph number of the quote 

☑ Do not include sources in your reference list if you did not use them.

In APA, reference citations are not a list of sources you read! Only include a source in your reference list if you quoted or paraphrased that source with an in-text citation in your paper.

☑ Each in-text citation must match its reference list citation.

The author name and year in the reference list citation and in-text citation must be the same. If you make a correction to the author and/or date in one of your references, you must also edit all of the corresponding in-text citations.

In-Text Citations

Citing paraphrased information:

(Author, Year).

Citing a direct quote:

(Author, Year, p. 3). OR (Author, Year, para. 3).

In-text Citation Examples

Paraphrasing a source with TWO AUTHORS:

(Tindall & Curtis, 2019).

Paraphrasing a source with THREE OR MORE AUTHORS:

(Amida et al., 2021).

Paraphrasing a source authored by a GROUP/ORGANIZATION with NO DATE:

(U.S. Department of Homeland Security, n.d.).

• 2023 In-Text Citation Instructions Help! I need more examples! Check out this PDF for what to do when you have long paraphrases, long quotations, you want to cite a source you found in another source, you have sources with the same author and date, and more!

Reference List Citations

Author. (Date). Title. Source. URL

Reference List Citation Examples

Reference list citation for a journal article with THREE OR MORE AUTHORS:*

Amida, A., Appianing, J., & Marafa, Y. (2022). Testing the predictors of college students' attitudes toward plagiarism. Journal of Academic Ethics, 20 (1), p. 85-99.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-021-09401-9

Reference list citation for an online article/webpage with ONE AUTHOR: 

Bailey, J. (2022, July 6). 5 things new students need to know about plagiarism. Plagiarism Today . https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2022/07/06/5-things-new-students-need-to-know-about-plagiarism/

Reference list citation for a source with a GROUP AUTHOR and NO DATE:

U. S. Department of Homeland Security. (n.d.). What is plagiarism? https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/2014/11/what-plagiarism

*Never use "et al." in a reference citation. Include every author's name, up to 20 authors. For guidance on citing works with more than 20 authors, see the 2023 Reference List Instructions PDF below.

• 2023 APA Reference list instructions Help! I need more examples! Check out this PDF for what to do if there is no author or when there are twenty-one or more authors, how to capitalize the title, when the title has a title in it, and more!
• << Previous: Academic Posters
• Next: Citation Generators >>
• Last Updated: Jun 17, 2024 3:13 PM
• URL: https://lynn-library.libguides.com/apa

APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Formatting Your References

• About In-text Citations
• In-Text Examples
• What to Include
• Volume/Issue
• Bracketed Descriptions
• URLs and DOIs
• Book with Editor(s)
• Book with No Author
• Book with Organization as Author
• Book with Personal Author(s)
• Chapters and Parts of Books
• Classical Works
• Course Materials
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Multi-Volume Works
• Newspaper Article
• Patents & Laws
• Personal Communication
• Physicians' Desk Reference
• Social Media
• Unpublished Manuscripts/Informal Publications (i.e. course packets and dissertations)
• Formatting Your Paper
• Formatting Your References
• Annotated Bibliography
• Headings in APA
• APA Quick Guide
• NEW!* Submit your Paper for APA Review

Sample Reference List

The reference list is the last page of your paper. References begin on a separate page from the last page of your writing. Put the word References  in boldfaced type at the top center of the page. Your reference list is alphabetized according to the first word of each end reference. With multiple references that list the same author, list these in chronological order with the earliest date first in the list. The reference list is double spaced and formatted using a hanging indent. To put in a hanging indent, type your references normally. When finished, highlight the reference list and click on the arrow in the corner of the paragraph tab in Word. Under Indentation, select Hanging from the drop-down menu for Special. To see a video of this process, click here for PC instructions ,  click here for Mac instructions , and click here for Google Doc instructions .

• << Previous: Formatting Your Paper
• Next: Annotated Bibliography >>
• Last Updated: Feb 13, 2024 6:21 PM
• URL: https://irsc.libguides.com/APA

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Reference List: Basic Rules

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resourse, revised according to the 7 th  edition APA Publication Manual, offers basic guidelines for formatting the reference list at the end of a standard APA research paper. Most sources follow fairly straightforward rules. However, because sources obtained from academic journals  carry special weight in research writing, these sources are subject to special rules . Thus, this page presents basic guidelines for citing academic journals separate from its "ordinary" basic guidelines. This distinction is made clear below.

Note:  Because the information on this page pertains to virtually all citations, we've highlighted one important difference between APA 6 and APA 7 with an underlined note written in red.  For more information, please consult the   Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (7 th  ed.).

Formatting a Reference List

Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.

Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page "References" in bold, centered at the top of the page (do NOT underline or use quotation marks for the title). All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.

Basic Rules for Most Sources

• All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
• All authors' names should be inverted (i.e., last names should be provided first).
• For example, the reference entry for a source written by Jane Marie Smith would begin with "Smith, J. M."
• If a middle name isn't available, just initialize the author's first name: "Smith, J."
• Give the last name and first/middle initials for all authors of a particular work up to and including 20 authors ( this is a new rule, as APA 6 only required the first six authors ). Separate each author’s initials from the next author in the list with a comma. Use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name. If there are 21 or more authors, use an ellipsis (but no ampersand) after the 19th author, and then add the final author’s name.
• Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
• For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
• Note again that the titles of academic journals are subject to special rules. See section below.
• Italicize titles of longer works (e.g., books, edited collections, names of newspapers, and so on).
• Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as chapters in books or essays in edited collections.

Basic Rules for Articles in Academic Journals

• Present journal titles in full.
• Italicize journal titles.
• For example, you should use  PhiloSOPHIA  instead of  Philosophia,  or  Past & Present   instead of  Past and Present.
• This distinction is based on the type of source being cited. Academic journal titles have all major words capitalized, while other sources' titles do not.
• Capitalize   the first word of the titles and subtitles of   journal articles , as well as the   first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and   any proper nouns .
• Do not italicize or underline the article title.
• Deep blue: The mysteries of the Marianas Trench.
• Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication

Please note:  While the APA manual provides examples of how to cite common types of sources, it does not cover all conceivable sources. If you must cite a source that APA does not address, the APA suggests finding an example that is similar to your source and using that format. For more information, see page 282 of the   Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7 th  ed.

Reference Examples

More than 100 reference examples and their corresponding in-text citations are presented in the seventh edition Publication Manual . Examples of the most common works that writers cite are provided on this page; additional examples are available in the Publication Manual .

To find the reference example you need, first select a category (e.g., periodicals) and then choose the appropriate type of work (e.g., journal article ) and follow the relevant example.

When selecting a category, use the webpages and websites category only when a work does not fit better within another category. For example, a report from a government website would use the reports category, whereas a page on a government website that is not a report or other work would use the webpages and websites category.

Also note that print and electronic references are largely the same. For example, to cite both print books and ebooks, use the books and reference works category and then choose the appropriate type of work (i.e., book ) and follow the relevant example (e.g., whole authored book ).

Examples on these pages illustrate the details of reference formats. We make every attempt to show examples that are in keeping with APA Style’s guiding principles of inclusivity and bias-free language. These examples are presented out of context only to demonstrate formatting issues (e.g., which elements to italicize, where punctuation is needed, placement of parentheses). References, including these examples, are not inherently endorsements for the ideas or content of the works themselves. An author may cite a work to support a statement or an idea, to critique that work, or for many other reasons. For more examples, see our sample papers .

Reference examples are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Chapter 10 and the Concise Guide Chapter 10

Related handouts

• Common Reference Examples Guide (PDF, 147KB)
• Reference Quick Guide (PDF, 225KB)

Textual Works

Textual works are covered in Sections 10.1–10.8 of the Publication Manual . The most common categories and examples are presented here. For the reviews of other works category, see Section 10.7.

• Journal Article References
• Magazine Article References
• Newspaper Article References
• Blog Post and Blog Comment References
• UpToDate Article References
• Book/Ebook References
• Diagnostic Manual References
• Children’s Book or Other Illustrated Book References
• Classroom Course Pack Material References
• Religious Work References
• Chapter in an Edited Book/Ebook References
• Dictionary Entry References
• Wikipedia Entry References
• Report by a Government Agency References
• Report with Individual Authors References
• Brochure References
• Ethics Code References
• Fact Sheet References
• ISO Standard References
• Press Release References
• White Paper References
• Conference Presentation References
• Conference Proceeding References
• Published Dissertation or Thesis References
• Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis References
• ERIC Database References
• Preprint Article References

Data and Assessments

Data sets are covered in Section 10.9 of the Publication Manual . For the software and tests categories, see Sections 10.10 and 10.11.

• Data Set References
• Toolbox References

Audiovisual Media

Audiovisual media are covered in Sections 10.12–10.14 of the Publication Manual . The most common examples are presented together here. In the manual, these examples and more are separated into categories for audiovisual, audio, and visual media.

• Artwork References
• Clip Art or Stock Image References
• Film and Television References
• Musical Score References
• Online Course or MOOC References
• Podcast References
• PowerPoint Slide or Lecture Note References
• Radio Broadcast References
• TED Talk References
• Transcript of an Audiovisual Work References
• YouTube Video References

Online Media

Online media are covered in Sections 10.15 and 10.16 of the Publication Manual . Please note that blog posts are part of the periodicals category.

• Facebook References
• Instagram References
• LinkedIn References
• Online Forum (e.g., Reddit) References
• TikTok References
• X References
• Webpage on a Website References
• Clinical Practice References
• Open Educational Resource References
• Whole Website References

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Referencing

A Quick Guide to Referencing | Cite Your Sources Correctly

Referencing means acknowledging the sources you have used in your writing. Including references helps you support your claims and ensures that you avoid plagiarism .

There are many referencing styles, but they usually consist of two things:

• A citation wherever you refer to a source in your text.
• A reference list or bibliography at the end listing full details of all your sources.

The most common method of referencing in UK universities is Harvard style , which uses author-date citations in the text. Our free Harvard Reference Generator automatically creates accurate references in this style.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

Table of contents

Referencing styles, citing your sources with in-text citations, creating your reference list or bibliography, harvard referencing examples, frequently asked questions about referencing.

Each referencing style has different rules for presenting source information. For in-text citations, some use footnotes or endnotes , while others include the author’s surname and date of publication in brackets in the text.

The reference list or bibliography is presented differently in each style, with different rules for things like capitalisation, italics, and quotation marks in references.

Your university will usually tell you which referencing style to use; they may even have their own unique style. Always follow your university’s guidelines, and ask your tutor if you are unsure. The most common styles are summarised below.

Harvard referencing, the most commonly used style at UK universities, uses author–date in-text citations corresponding to an alphabetical bibliography or reference list at the end.

Harvard Referencing Guide

Vancouver referencing, used in biomedicine and other sciences, uses reference numbers in the text corresponding to a numbered reference list at the end.

Vancouver Referencing Guide

APA referencing, used in the social and behavioural sciences, uses author–date in-text citations corresponding to an alphabetical reference list at the end.

APA Referencing Guide APA Reference Generator

MHRA referencing, used in the humanities, uses footnotes in the text with source information, in addition to an alphabetised bibliography at the end.

MHRA Referencing Guide

OSCOLA referencing, used in law, uses footnotes in the text with source information, and an alphabetical bibliography at the end in longer texts.

OSCOLA Referencing Guide

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

In-text citations should be used whenever you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source (e.g. a book, article, image, website, or video).

Quoting and paraphrasing

Quoting is when you directly copy some text from a source and enclose it in quotation marks to indicate that it is not your own writing.

Paraphrasing is when you rephrase the original source into your own words. In this case, you don’t use quotation marks, but you still need to include a citation.

In most referencing styles, page numbers are included when you’re quoting or paraphrasing a particular passage. If you are referring to the text as a whole, no page number is needed.

In-text citations

In-text citations are quick references to your sources. In Harvard referencing, you use the author’s surname and the date of publication in brackets.

Up to three authors are included in a Harvard in-text citation. If the source has more than three authors, include the first author followed by ‘ et al. ‘

The point of these citations is to direct your reader to the alphabetised reference list, where you give full information about each source. For example, to find the source cited above, the reader would look under ‘J’ in your reference list to find the title and publication details of the source.

Placement of in-text citations

In-text citations should be placed directly after the quotation or information they refer to, usually before a comma or full stop. If a sentence is supported by multiple sources, you can combine them in one set of brackets, separated by a semicolon.

If you mention the author’s name in the text already, you don’t include it in the citation, and you can place the citation immediately after the name.

• Another researcher warns that the results of this method are ‘inconsistent’ (Singh, 2018, p. 13) .
• Previous research has frequently illustrated the pitfalls of this method (Singh, 2018; Jones, 2016) .
• Singh (2018, p. 13) warns that the results of this method are ‘inconsistent’.

The terms ‘bibliography’ and ‘reference list’ are sometimes used interchangeably. Both refer to a list that contains full information on all the sources cited in your text. Sometimes ‘bibliography’ is used to mean a more extensive list, also containing sources that you consulted but did not cite in the text.

A reference list or bibliography is usually mandatory, since in-text citations typically don’t provide full source information. For styles that already include full source information in footnotes (e.g. OSCOLA and Chicago Style ), the bibliography is optional, although your university may still require you to include one.

Format of the reference list

Reference lists are usually alphabetised by authors’ last names. Each entry in the list appears on a new line, and a hanging indent is applied if an entry extends onto multiple lines.

Different source information is included for different source types. Each style provides detailed guidelines for exactly what information should be included and how it should be presented.

Below are some examples of reference list entries for common source types in Harvard style.

• Chapter of a book
• Journal article

Your university should tell you which referencing style to follow. If you’re unsure, check with a supervisor. Commonly used styles include:

• Harvard referencing , the most commonly used style in UK universities.
• MHRA , used in humanities subjects.
• APA , used in the social sciences.
• Vancouver , used in biomedicine.
• OSCOLA , used in law.

Your university may have its own referencing style guide.

If you are allowed to choose which style to follow, we recommend Harvard referencing, as it is a straightforward and widely used style.

References should be included in your text whenever you use words, ideas, or information from a source. A source can be anything from a book or journal article to a website or YouTube video.

If you don’t acknowledge your sources, you can get in trouble for plagiarism .

To avoid plagiarism , always include a reference when you use words, ideas or information from a source. This shows that you are not trying to pass the work of others off as your own.

You must also properly quote or paraphrase the source. If you’re not sure whether you’ve done this correctly, you can use the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker to find and correct any mistakes.

Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.

Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.

Is this article helpful?

Other students also liked.

• A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples
• APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References

How to Avoid Plagiarism | Tips on Citing Sources

More interesting articles.

• A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples
• Harvard In-Text Citation | A Complete Guide & Examples
• Harvard Referencing for Journal Articles | Templates & Examples
• Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples
• MHRA Referencing | A Quick Guide & Citation Examples
• Reference a Website in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples
• Referencing Books in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples
• Vancouver Referencing | A Quick Guide & Reference Examples

Scribbr APA Citation Checker

An innovative new tool that checks your APA citations with AI software. Say goodbye to inaccurate citations!

How to Write an Academic Essay with References and Citations

#scribendiinc

Written by  Scribendi

If you're wondering how to write an academic essay with references, look no further. In this article, we'll discuss how to use in-text citations and references, including how to cite a website, how to cite a book, and how to cite a Tweet, according to various style guides.

You might need to cite sources when writing a paper that references other sources. For example, when writing an essay, you may use information from other works, such as books, articles, or websites. You must then inform readers where this information came from. Failure to do so, even accidentally, is plagiarism—passing off another person's work as your own.

You can avoid plagiarism and show readers where to find information by using citations and references. 

Citations tell readers where a piece of information came from. They take the form of footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical elements, depending on your style guide. In-text citations are usually placed at the end of a sentence containing the relevant information. 

A reference list , bibliography, or works cited list at the end of a text provides additional details about these cited sources. This list includes enough publication information allowing readers to look up these sources themselves.

Referencing is important for more than simply avoiding plagiarism. Referring to a trustworthy source shows that the information is reliable. Referring to reliable information can also support your major points and back up your argument. 

Learning how to write an academic essay with references and how to use in-text citations will allow you to cite authors who have made similar arguments. This helps show that your argument is objective and not entirely based on personal biases.

How Do You Determine Which Style Guide to Use?

Often, a professor will assign a style guide. The purpose of a style guide is to provide writers with formatting instructions. If your professor has not assigned a style guide, they should still be able to recommend one. 

If you are entirely free to choose, pick one that aligns with your field (for example, APA is frequently used for scientific writing). 

Some of the most common style guides are as follows:

AP style for journalism

Chicago style for publishing

APA style for scholarly writing (commonly used in scientific fields)

MLA style for scholarly citations (commonly used in English literature fields)

Some journals have their own style guides, so if you plan to publish, check which guide your target journal uses. You can do this by locating your target journal's website and searching for author guidelines.

How Do You Pick Your Sources?

When learning how to write an academic essay with references, you must identify reliable sources that support your argument. 

As you read, think critically and evaluate sources for:

Objectivity

Keep detailed notes on the sources so that you can easily find them again, if needed.

Tip: Record these notes in the format of your style guide—your reference list will then be ready to go.

How to Use In-Text Citations in MLA

An in-text citation in MLA includes the author's last name and the relevant page number: 

(Author 123)

How to Cite a Website in MLA

Here's how to cite a website in MLA:

Author's last name, First name. "Title of page."

Website. Website Publisher, date. Web. Date

retrieved. <URL>

With information from a real website, this looks like:

Morris, Nancy. "How to Cite a Tweet in APA,

Chicago, and MLA." Scribendi. Scribendi

Inc., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2021.

<https://www.scribendi.com/academy/articles/how_to_cite_a_website.en.html>

How Do You Cite a Tweet in MLA ?

MLA uses the full text of a short Tweet (under 140 characters) as its title. Longer Tweets can be shortened using ellipses. 

MLA Tweet references should be formatted as follows:

@twitterhandle (Author Name). "Text of Tweet." Twitter, Date Month, Year, time of

publication, URL.

With information from an actual Tweet, this looks like:

@neiltyson (Neil deGrasse Tyson). "You can't use reason to convince anyone out of an

argument that they didn't use reason to get into." Twitter, 29 Sept. 2020, 10:15 p.m.,

https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1311127369785192449 .

How to Cite a Book in MLA

Here's how to cite a book in MLA:

Author's last name, First name. Book Title. Publisher, Year.

With publication information from a real book, this looks like:

Montgomery, L.M. Rainbow Valley. Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1919.

How to Cite a Chapter in a Book in MLA

Author's last name, First name. "Title of Chapter." Book Title , edited by Editor Name,

Publisher, Year, pp. page range.

With publication information from an actual book, this looks like:

Ezell, Margaret J.M. "The Social Author: Manuscript Culture, Writers, and Readers." The

Broadview Reader in Book History , edited by Michelle Levy and Tom Mole, Broadview

Press, 2015,pp. 375–394.

How to  Cite a Paraphrase in MLA

You can cite a paraphrase in MLA exactly the same way as you would cite a direct quotation. 

Make sure to include the author's name (either in the text or in the parenthetical citation) and the relevant page number.

How to Use In-Text Citations in APA

In APA, in-text citations include the author's last name and the year of publication; a page number is included only if a direct quotation is used: 

(Author, 2021, p. 123)

How to Cite a Website in APA

Here's how to cite a website in APA:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year, Month. date of publication). Title of page. https://URL

Morris, N. (n.d.). How to cite a Tweet in APA, Chicago, and MLA. 

https://www.scribendi.com/academy/articles/how_to_cite_a_website.en.html       

Tip: Learn more about how to write an academic essay with  references to websites .

How Do You  Cite a Tweet in APA ?

APA refers to Tweets using their first 20 words. 

Tweet references should be formatted as follows:

Author, A. A. [@twitterhandle). (Year, Month. date of publication). First 20 words of the

Tweet. [Tweet] Twitter. URL

When we input information from a real Tweet, this looks like:

deGrasse Tyson, N. [@neiltyson]. (2020, Sept. 29). You can't use reason to convince anyone

out of an argument that they didn't use reason to get into. [Tweet] Twitter.

https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1311127369785192449

How to Cite a Book in APA

Here's how to cite a book in APA:   

Author, A. A. (Year). Book title. Publisher.

For a real book, this looks like:

Montgomery, L. M. (1919). Rainbow valley.

Frederick A. Stokes Company.

How to Cite a Chapter in a Book in APA

Author, A. A. (Year). Chapter title. In Editor Name (Ed.), Book Title (pp. page range).

With information from a real book, this looks like:

Ezell, M. J. M. (2014). The social author: Manuscript culture, writers, and readers. In

Michelle Levy and Tom Mole (Eds.), The Broadview Reader in Book History (pp. 375–

394). Broadview Press.

Knowing how to cite a book and how to cite a chapter in a book correctly will take you a long way in creating an effective reference list.

How to Cite a Paraphrase in APA

You can cite a paraphrase in APA the same way as you would cite a direct quotation, including the author's name and year of publication. 

In APA, you may also choose to pinpoint the page from which the information is taken.

Referencing is an essential part of academic integrity. Learning how to write an academic essay with references and how to use in-text citations shows readers that you did your research and helps them locate your sources.

Learning how to cite a website, how to cite a book, and how to cite a paraphrase can also help you avoid plagiarism —an academic offense with serious consequences for your education or professional reputation.

Scribendi can help format your citations or review your whole paper with our Academic Editing services .

Take Your Essay from Good to Great

Hire an expert academic editor , or get a free sample, about the author.

Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing transformed into a great one. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained numerous degrees. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.

Have You Read?

"The Complete Beginner's Guide to Academic Writing"

Related Posts

APA Style and APA Formatting

How to Research a Term Paper

MLA Formatting and MLA Style: An Introduction

Upload your file(s) so we can calculate your word count, or enter your word count manually.

We will also recommend a service based on the file(s) you upload.

English is not my first language. I need English editing and proofreading so that I sound like a native speaker.

I need to have my journal article, dissertation, or term paper edited and proofread, or I need help with an admissions essay or proposal.

I have a novel, manuscript, play, or ebook. I need editing, copy editing, proofreading, a critique of my work, or a query package.

I need editing and proofreading for my white papers, reports, manuals, press releases, marketing materials, and other business documents.

I need to have my essay, project, assignment, or term paper edited and proofread.

I want to sound professional and to get hired. I have a resume, letter, email, or personal document that I need to have edited and proofread.

 Prices include your personal % discount.

 Prices include % sales tax ( ).

A step-by-step guide for creating and formatting APA Style student papers

The start of the semester is the perfect time to learn how to create and format APA Style student papers. This article walks through the formatting steps needed to create an APA Style student paper, starting with a basic setup that applies to the entire paper (margins, font, line spacing, paragraph alignment and indentation, and page headers). It then covers formatting for the major sections of a student paper: the title page, the text, tables and figures, and the reference list. Finally, it concludes by describing how to organize student papers and ways to improve their quality and presentation.

The guidelines for student paper setup are described and shown using annotated diagrams in the Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF, 3.40MB) and the A Step-by-Step Guide to APA Style Student Papers webinar . Chapter 1 of the Concise Guide to APA Style and Chapter 2 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association describe the elements, format, and organization for student papers. Tables and figures are covered in Chapter 7 of both books. Information on paper format and tables and figures and a full sample student paper are also available on the APA Style website.

Basic setup

The guidelines for basic setup apply to the entire paper. Perform these steps when you first open your document, and then you do not have to worry about them again while writing your paper. Because these are general aspects of paper formatting, they apply to all APA Style papers, student or professional. Students should always check with their assigning instructor or institution for specific guidelines for their papers, which may be different than or in addition to APA Style guidelines.

Seventh edition APA Style was designed with modern word-processing programs in mind. Most default settings in programs such as Academic Writer, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs already comply with APA Style. This means that, for most paper elements, you do not have to make any changes to the default settings of your word-processing program. However, you may need to make a few adjustments before you begin writing.

Use 1-in. margins on all sides of the page (top, bottom, left, and right). This is usually how papers are automatically set.

Use a legible font. The default font of your word-processing program is acceptable. Many sans serif and serif fonts can be used in APA Style, including 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 12-point Times New Roman, and 11-point Georgia. You can also use other fonts described on the font page of the website.

Line spacing

Double-space the entire paper including the title page, block quotations, and the reference list. This is something you usually must set using the paragraph function of your word-processing program. But once you do, you will not have to change the spacing for the entirety of your paper–just double-space everything. Do not add blank lines before or after headings. Do not add extra spacing between paragraphs. For paper sections with different line spacing, see the line spacing page.

Paragraph alignment and indentation

Align all paragraphs of text in the body of your paper to the left margin. Leave the right margin ragged. Do not use full justification. Indent the first line of every paragraph of text 0.5-in. using the tab key or the paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program. For paper sections with different alignment and indentation, see the paragraph alignment and indentation page.

Page numbers

Put a page number in the top right of every page header , including the title page, starting with page number 1. Use the automatic page-numbering function of your word-processing program to insert the page number in the top right corner; do not type the page numbers manually. The page number is the same font and font size as the text of your paper. Student papers do not require a running head on any page, unless specifically requested by the instructor.

Title page setup

Title page elements.

APA Style has two title page formats: student and professional (for details, see title page setup ). Unless instructed otherwise, students should use the student title page format and include the following elements, in the order listed, on the title page:

• Paper title.
• Name of each author (also known as the byline).
• Affiliation for each author.
• Course number and name.
• Instructor name.
• Assignment due date.
• Page number 1 in the top right corner of the page header.

The format for the byline depends on whether the paper has one author, two authors, or three or more authors.

• When the paper has one author, write the name on its own line (e.g., Jasmine C. Hernandez).
• When the paper has two authors, write the names on the same line and separate them with the word “and” (e.g., Upton J. Wang and Natalia Dominguez).
• When the paper has three or more authors, separate the names with commas and include “and” before the final author’s name (e.g., Malia Mohamed, Jaylen T. Brown, and Nia L. Ball).

Students have an academic affiliation, which identities where they studied when the paper was written. Because students working together on a paper are usually in the same class, they will have one shared affiliation. The affiliation consists of the name of the department and the name of the college or university, separated by a comma (e.g., Department of Psychology, George Mason University). The department is that of the course to which the paper is being submitted, which may be different than the department of the student’s major. Do not include the location unless it is part of the institution’s name.

Write the course number and name and the instructor name as shown on institutional materials (e.g., the syllabus). The course number and name are often separated by a colon (e.g., PST-4510: History and Systems Psychology). Write the assignment due date in the month, date, and year format used in your country (e.g., Sept. 10, 2020).

Title page line spacing

Double-space the whole title page. Place the paper title three or four lines down from the top of the page. Add an extra double-spaced blank like between the paper title and the byline. Then, list the other title page elements on separate lines, without extra lines in between.

Title page alignment

Center all title page elements (except the right-aligned page number in the header).

Title page font

Write the title page using the same font and font size as the rest of your paper. Bold the paper title. Use standard font (i.e., no bold, no italics) for all other title page elements.

Text elements

Repeat the paper title at the top of the first page of text. Begin the paper with an introduction to provide background on the topic, cite related studies, and contextualize the paper. Use descriptive headings to identify other sections as needed (e.g., Method, Results, Discussion for quantitative research papers). Sections and headings vary depending on the paper type and its complexity. Text can include tables and figures, block quotations, headings, and footnotes.

Text line spacing

Double-space all text, including headings and section labels, paragraphs of text, and block quotations.

Text alignment

Center the paper title on the first line of the text. Indent the first line of all paragraphs 0.5-in.

Left-align the text. Leave the right margin ragged.

Block quotation alignment

Indent the whole block quotation 0.5-in. from the left margin. Double-space the block quotation, the same as other body text. Find more information on the quotations page.

Use the same font throughout the entire paper. Write body text in standard (nonbold, nonitalic) font. Bold only headings and section labels. Use italics sparingly, for instance, to highlight a key term on first use (for more information, see the italics page).

Headings format

For detailed guidance on formatting headings, including headings in the introduction of a paper, see the headings page and the headings in sample papers .

• Alignment: Center Level 1 headings. Left-align Level 2 and Level 3 headings. Indent Level 4 and Level 5 headings like a regular paragraph.
• Font: Boldface all headings. Also italicize Level 3 and Level 5 headings. Create heading styles using your word-processing program (built into AcademicWriter, available for Word via the sample papers on the APA Style website).

Tables and figures setup

Tables and figures are only included in student papers if needed for the assignment. Tables and figures share the same elements and layout. See the website for sample tables and sample figures .

Table elements

Tables include the following four elements: 

• Body (rows and columns)
• Note (optional if needed to explain elements in the table)

Figure elements

Figures include the following four elements: 

• Image (chart, graph, etc.)
• Note (optional if needed to explain elements in the figure)

Table line spacing

Double-space the table number and title. Single-, 1.5-, or double-space the table body (adjust as needed for readability). Double-space the table note.

Figure line spacing

Double-space the figure number and title. The default settings for spacing in figure images is usually acceptable (but adjust the spacing as needed for readability). Double-space the figure note.

Table alignment

Left-align the table number and title. Center column headings. Left-align the table itself and left-align the leftmost (stub) column. Center data in the table body if it is short or left-align the data if it is long. Left-align the table note.

Figure alignment

Left-align the figure number and title. Left-align the whole figure image. The default alignment of the program in which you created your figure is usually acceptable for axis titles and data labels. Left-align the figure note.

Bold the table number. Italicize the table title. Use the same font and font size in the table body as the text of your paper. Italicize the word “Note” at the start of the table note. Write the note in the same font and font size as the text of your paper.

Figure font

Bold the figure number. Italicize the figure title. Use a sans serif font (e.g., Calibri, Arial) in the figure image in a size between 8 to 14 points. Italicize the word “Note” at the start of the figure note. Write the note in the same font and font size as the text of your paper.

Placement of tables and figures

There are two options for the placement of tables and figures in an APA Style paper. The first option is to place all tables and figures on separate pages after the reference list. The second option is to embed each table and figure within the text after its first callout. This guide describes options for the placement of tables and figures embedded in the text. If your instructor requires tables and figures to be placed at the end of the paper, see the table and figure guidelines and the sample professional paper .

Call out (mention) the table or figure in the text before embedding it (e.g., write “see Figure 1” or “Table 1 presents”). You can place the table or figure after the callout either at the bottom of the page, at the top of the next page, or by itself on the next page. Avoid placing tables and figures in the middle of the page.

Embedding at the bottom of the page

Include a callout to the table or figure in the text before that table or figure. Add a blank double-spaced line between the text and the table or figure at the bottom of the page.

Embedding at the top of the page

Include a callout to the table in the text on the previous page before that table or figure. The table or figure then appears at the top of the next page. Add a blank double-spaced line between the end of the table or figure and the text that follows.

Embedding on its own page

Embed long tables or large figures on their own page if needed. The text continues on the next page.

Reference list setup

Reference list elements.

The reference list consists of the “References” section label and the alphabetical list of references. View reference examples on the APA Style website. Consult Chapter 10 in both the Concise Guide and Publication Manual for even more examples.

Reference list line spacing

Start the reference list at the top of a new page after the text. Double-space the entire reference list (both within and between entries).

Reference list alignment

Center the “References” label. Apply a hanging indent of 0.5-in. to all reference list entries. Create the hanging indent using your word-processing program; do not manually hit the enter and tab keys.

Reference list font

Bold the “References” label at the top of the first page of references. Use italics within reference list entries on either the title (e.g., webpages, books, reports) or on the source (e.g., journal articles, edited book chapters).

Final checks

Check page order.

• Start each section on a new page.
• Arrange pages in the following order:
• Title page (page 1).
• Text (starts on page 2).
• Reference list (starts on a new page after the text).

Check headings

• Check that headings accurately reflect the content in each section.
• Start each main section with a Level 1 heading.
• Use Level 2 headings for subsections of the introduction.
• Use the same level of heading for sections of equal importance.
• Avoid having only one subsection within a section (have two or more, or none).

Check assignment instructions

• Remember that instructors’ guidelines supersede APA Style.
• Students should check their assignment guidelines or rubric for specific content to include in their papers and to make sure they are meeting assignment requirements.

Tips for better writing

• Ask for feedback on your paper from a classmate, writing center tutor, or instructor.
• Budget time to implement suggestions.
• Use spell-check and grammar-check to identify potential errors, and then manually check those flagged.
• Proofread the paper by reading it slowly and carefully aloud to yourself.
• Consult your university writing center if you need extra help.

About the author

Undergraduate student resources

APA Style, 7th edition - Citing Sources

• Getting Started
• Formatting the Paper
• Dissertation & SPP Formatting
• Student vs. Professional
• Writing Style

Reference List Rules

Apa style scaffolded reference elements worksheet, using ebsco cite tool, how to create a hanging indent.

• All about the DOI
• OVERVIEW - READ FIRST!
• Dictionary Entry
• Government Report
• Journal Article
• Lecture Notes
• Legal Resources
• Lexicomp via UpToDate
• Magazine Article
• Newsletter Article
• Newspaper Article
• Online Course or MOOC
• Organization Report
• Social Media
• Tables & Figures
• Video: Films on Demand
• Video: Online
• Video: Psychotherapy.net
• Video: YouTube
• APA Paper Review (Regis Students Only)

Your paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. Follow these rules for the reference list.

• Start a new page for your reference list. Place the label References  at the top center of the page.  Place it in bold format but do not capitalize or italicize it.
• Double-space the list. Do not add any extra spaces between references.
• Start the first line of each reference at the left margin; indent each subsequent line five spaces (a hanging indent).  TIP: Use MS Word function under the  Paragraph tab to create this.  
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the reference, which will typically be the author’s last name. When the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the .
• For each author, provide the last name followed by a comma and the first (and middle, if listed) initials followed by periods.
• Italicize the titles of individual works: books, films, reports, newspapers, and the title and volume number of journals and magazines.
• Do not italicize titles of articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals, chapter titles from a book, or chapters or sections of an Internet document.
• For article, book, report,  and chapter titles: Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, and all proper nouns (names of people, places, organizations).
• Every in-text citation should have a corresponding entry in the reference list (except for personal communication).
• Do not include personal communication (such as interviews, emails) in the reference list.  Simply include an in-text citation.
• Journal articles should include DOIs.  
• Do not place a period after a DOI or a URL.
• Include the header on your references page.
• See the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), starting on p. 281 for more information.
• APA Scaffolded Reference Elements Worksheet Use this worksheet to help you formulate your References list based on the different elements of the citation.

Use the Cite Tools in databases such as EBSCO’s CINAHL with caution!

While the citations created can be a good “starting point,” they often have errors.  Make sure you proofread and correct!  Pay particular attention to capitalization, punctuation, and italicization. Look for missing information, such as the DOI.  EBSCO posts this at the top of each set of citations created by the tool:

...Make any necessary corrections before using. Pay special attention to personal names, capitalization, and dates. Always consult your library resources for the exact formatting and punctuation guidelines.

See the document below for an example and more information. 

• Example of corrected EBSCO citation in APA 7th style.

APA style requires you to use a hanging indent for your sources. These are instructions for creating a hanging indent in Word documents.

• Place your cursor at the beginning of your second line, before any text.
• Right click your mouse.
• Select Paragraph from the resulting pop up menu.
• Under Indentation, use the Special pull-down menu to select Hanging .

Right click your mouse to open the Paragraph tab, or choose it from the ribbon bar.

Under "Special," select "Hanging."

• << Previous: Citations
• Next: All about the DOI >>
• Last Updated: Jun 18, 2024 10:51 AM
• URL: https://libguides.regiscollege.edu/APA7

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

13.3 Creating a References Section

Learning objective.

• Apply American Psychological Association (APA) style and formatting guidelines for a references section.

This section provides detailed information about how to create the references section of your paper. You will review basic formatting guidelines and learn how to format bibliographical entries for various types of sources. This section of Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , like the previous section, is meant to be used as a reference tool while you write.

Formatting the References Section: The Basics

At this stage in the writing process, you may already have begun setting up your references section. This section may consist of a single page for a brief research paper or may extend for many pages in professional journal articles. As you create this section of your paper, follow the guidelines provided here.

Formatting the References Section

To set up your references section, use the insert page break feature of your word-processing program to begin a new page. Note that the header and margins will be the same as in the body of your paper, and pagination continues from the body of your paper. (In other words, if you set up the body of your paper correctly, the correct header and page number should appear automatically in your references section.) See additional guidelines below.

Formatting Reference Entries

Reference entries should include the following information:

• The name of the author(s)
• The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
• The full title of the source
• For books, the city of publication
• For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
• For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
• For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located

See the following examples for how to format a book or journal article with a single author.

Sample Book Entry

Sample Journal Article Entry

The following box provides general guidelines for formatting the reference page. For the remainder of this chapter, you will learn about how to format bibliographical entries for different source types, including multiauthor and electronic sources.

Formatting the References Section: APA General Guidelines

1. Include the heading References , centered at the top of the page. The heading should not be boldfaced, italicized, or underlined. 2. Use double-spaced type throughout the references section, as in the body of your paper. 3. Use hanging indentation for each entry. The first line should be flush with the left margin, while any lines that follow should be indented five spaces. Note that hanging indentation is the opposite of normal indenting rules for paragraphs. 4. List entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. For a work with multiple authors, use the last name of the first author listed. 5. List authors’ names using this format: Smith, J. C. 6. For a work with no individual author(s), use the name of the organization that published the work or, if this is unavailable, the title of the work in place of the author’s name.

7. For works with multiple authors, follow these guidelines:

• For works with up to seven authors, list the last name and initials for each author.
• For works with more than seven authors, list the first six names, followed by ellipses, and then the name of the last author listed.
• Use an ampersand before the name of the last author listed.

8. Use title case for journal titles. Capitalize all important words in the title.

9. Use sentence case for all other titles—books, articles, web pages, and other source titles. Capitalize the first word of the title. Do not capitalize any other words in the title except for the following:

• Proper nouns
• First word of a subtitle
• First word after a colon or dash

Set up the first page of your references section and begin adding entries, following the APA formatting guidelines provided in this section.

• If there are any simple entries that you can format completely using the general guidelines, do so at this time.
• For entries you are unsure of how to format, type in as much information as you can, and highlight the entries so you can return to them later.

Formatting Reference Entries for Different Source Types

As is the case for in-text citations, formatting reference entries becomes more complicated when you are citing a source with multiple authors, citing various types of online media, or citing sources for which you must provide additional information beyond the basics listed in the general guidelines. The following guidelines show how to format reference entries for these different situations.

Print Sources: Books

For book-length sources and shorter works that appear in a book, follow the guidelines that best describes your source.

A Book by Two or More Authors

List the authors’ names in the order they appear on the book’s title page. Use an ampersand before the last author’s name.

Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

An Edited Book with No Author

List the editor or editors’ names in place of the author’s name, followed by Ed. or Eds. in parentheses.

Myers, C., & Reamer, D. (Eds.). (2009). 2009 nutrition index. San Francisco, CA: HealthSource, Inc.

An Edited Book with an Author

List the author’s name first, followed by the title and the editor or editors. Note that when the editor is listed after the title, you list the initials before the last name.

The previous example shows the format used for an edited book with one author—for instance, a collection of a famous person’s letters that has been edited. This type of source is different from an anthology, which is a collection of articles or essays by different authors. For citing works in anthologies, see the guidelines later in this section.

A Translated Book

Include the translator’s name after the title, and at the end of the citation, list the date the original work was published. Note that for the translator’s name, you list the initials before the last name.

Freud, S. (1965). New introductory lectures on psycho-analysis (J. Strachey, Trans.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1933).

A Book Published in Multiple Editions

If you are using any edition other than the first edition, include the edition number in parentheses after the title.

A Chapter in an Edited Book

List the name of the author(s) who wrote the chapter, followed by the chapter title. Then list the names of the book editor(s) and the title of the book, followed by the page numbers for the chapter and the usual information about the book’s publisher.

A Work That Appears in an Anthology

Follow the same process you would use to cite a book chapter, substituting the article or essay title for the chapter title.

An Article in a Reference Book

List the author’s name if available; if no author is listed, provide the title of the entry where the author’s name would normally be listed. If the book lists the name of the editor(s), include it in your citation. Indicate the volume number (if applicable) and page numbers in parentheses after the article title.

Two or More Books by the Same Author

List the entries in order of their publication year, beginning with the work published first.

Swedan, N. (2001). Women’s sports medicine and rehabilitation. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers.

Swedan, N. (2003). The active woman’s health and fitness handbook. New York, NY: Perigee.

If two books have multiple authors, and the first author is the same but the others are different, alphabetize by the second author’s last name (or the third or fourth, if necessary).

Carroll, D., & Aaronson, F. (2008). Managing type II diabetes. Chicago, IL: Southwick Press.

Carroll, D., & Zuckerman, N. (2008). Gestational diabetes. Chicago, IL: Southwick Press.

Books by Different Authors with the Same Last Name

Alphabetize entries by the authors’ first initial.

A Book Authored by an Organization

Treat the organization name as you would an author’s name. For the purposes of alphabetizing, ignore words like The in the organization’s name. (That is, a book published by the American Heart Association would be listed with other entries whose authors’ names begin with A .)

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders DSM-IV (4th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

A Book-Length Report

Format technical and research reports as you would format other book-length sources. If the organization that issued the report assigned it a number, include the number in parentheses after the title. (See also the guidelines provided for citing works produced by government agencies.)

Jameson, R., & Dewey, J. (2009). Preliminary findings from an evaluation of the president’s physical fitness program in Pleasantville school district. Pleasantville, WA: Pleasantville Board of Education.

A Book Authored by a Government Agency

Treat these as you would a book published by a nongovernment organization, but be aware that these works may have an identification number listed. If so, include it in parentheses after the publication year.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2002). The decennial censuses from 1790 to 2000 (Publication No. POL/02-MA). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Offices.

Revisit the references section you began to compile in Note 13.73 “Exercise 1” . Use the guidelines provided to format any entries for book-length print sources that you were unable to finish earlier.

Review how Jorge formatted these book-length print sources:

Atkins, R. C. (2002). Dr. Atkins’ diet revolution . New York, NY: M. Evans and Company.

Agatson, A. (2003). The South Beach diet. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Griffin.

Print Sources: Periodicals

An article in a scholarly journal.

Include the following information:

• Author or authors’ names
• Publication year
• Article title (in sentence case, without quotation marks or italics)
• Journal title (in title case and in italics)
• Volume number (in italics)
• Issue number (in parentheses)
• Page number(s) where the article appears

DeMarco, R. F. (2010). Palliative care and African American women living with HIV. Journal of Nursing Education, 49 (5), 1–4.

An Article in a Journal Paginated by Volume

In these types of journals, page numbers for one volume continue across all the issues in that volume. For instance, the winter issue may begin with page 1, and in the spring issue that follows, the page numbers pick up where the previous issue left off. (If you have ever wondered why a print journal did not begin on page 1, or wondered why the page numbers of a journal extend into four digits, this is why.) Omit the issue number from your reference entry.

Wagner, J. (2009). Rethinking school lunches: A review of recent literature. American School Nurses’ Journal , 47, 1123–1127.

An Abstract of a Scholarly Article

At times you may need to cite an abstract—the summary that appears at the beginning—of a published article. If you are citing the abstract only, and it was published separately from the article, provide the following information:

• Publication information for the article
• Information about where the abstract was published (for instance, another journal or a collection of abstracts)

A Journal Article with Two to Seven Authors

List all the authors’ names in the order they appear in the article. Use an ampersand before the last name listed.

Barker, E. T., & Bornstein, M. H. (2010). Global self-esteem, appearance satisfaction, and self-reported dieting in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 30 (2), 205–224.

Tremblay, M. S., Shields, M., Laviolette, M., Craig, C. L., Janssen, I., & Gorber, S. C. (2010). Fitness of Canadian children and youth: Results from the 2007–2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Health Reports, 21 (1), 7–20.

A Journal Article with More Than Seven Authors

List the first six authors’ names, followed by a comma, an ellipsis, and the name of the last author listed. The article in the following example has sixteen listed authors; the reference entry lists the first six authors and the sixteenth, omitting the seventh through the fifteenth.

Writing at Work

The idea of an eight-page article with sixteen authors may seem strange to you—especially if you are in the midst of writing a ten-page research paper on your own. More often than not, articles in scholarly journals list multiple authors. Sometimes, the authors actually did collaborate on writing and editing the published article. In other instances, some of the authors listed may have contributed to the research in some way while being only minimally involved in the process of writing the article. Whenever you collaborate with colleagues to produce a written product, follow your profession’s conventions for giving everyone proper credit for their contribution.

A Magazine Article

After the publication year, list the issue date. Otherwise, treat these as you would journal articles. List the volume and issue number if both are available.

A Newspaper Article

Treat these as you would magazine and journal articles, with one important difference: precede the page number(s) with the abbreviation p. (for a single-page article) or pp. (for a multipage article). For articles whose pagination is not continuous, list all the pages included in the article. For example, an article that begins on page A1 and continues on pages A4 would have the page reference A1, A4. An article that begins on page A1 and continues on pages A4 and A5 would have the page reference A1, A4–A5.

A Letter to the Editor

After the title, indicate in brackets that the work is a letter to the editor.

Jones, J. (2009, January 31). Food police in our schools [Letter to the editor]. Rockwood Gazette, p. A8.

After the title, indicate in brackets that the work is a review and state the name of the work being reviewed. (Note that even if the title of the review is the same as the title of the book being reviewed, as in the following example, you should treat it as an article title. Do not italicize it.)

Revisit the references section you began to compile in Note 13.73 “Exercise 1” . Use the guidelines provided above to format any entries for periodicals and other shorter print sources that you were unable to finish earlier.

Electronic Sources

Citing articles from online periodicals: urls and digital object identifiers (dois).

Whenever you cite online sources, it is important to provide the most up-to-date information available to help readers locate the source. In some cases, this means providing an article’s URL , or web address. (The letters URL stand for uniform resource locator.) Always provide the most complete URL possible. Provide a link to the specific article used, rather than a link to the publication’s homepage.

As you know, web addresses are not always stable. If a website is updated or reorganized, the article you accessed in April may move to a different location in May. The URL you provided may become a dead link. For this reason, many online periodicals, especially scholarly publications, now rely on DOIs rather than URLs to keep track of articles.

A DOI is a Digital Object Identifier—an identification code provided for some online documents, typically articles in scholarly journals. Like a URL, its purpose is to help readers locate an article. However, a DOI is more stable than a URL, so it makes sense to include it in your reference entry when possible. Follow these guidelines:

• If you are citing an online article with a DOI, list the DOI at the end of the reference entry.
• If the article appears in print as well as online, you do not need to provide the URL. However, include the words Electronic version after the title in brackets.
• In other respects, treat the article as you would a print article. Include the volume number and issue number if available. (Note, however, that these may not be available for some online periodicals).

An Article from an Online Periodical with a DOI

List the DOI if one is provided. There is no need to include the URL if you have listed the DOI.

Bell, J. R. (2006). Low-carb beats low-fat diet for early losses but not long term. OBGYN News, 41 (12), 32. doi:10.1016/S0029-7437(06)71905-X

An Article from an Online Periodical with No DOI

List the URL. Include the volume and issue number for the periodical if this information is available. (For some online periodicals, it may not be.)

Note that if the article appears in a print version of the publication, you do not need to list the URL, but do indicate that you accessed the electronic version.

Robbins, K. (2010, March/April). Nature’s bounty: A heady feast [Electronic version]. Psychology Today, 43 (2), 58.

Provide the URL of the article.

McNeil, D. G. (2010, May 3). Maternal health: A new study challenges benefits of vitamin A for women and babies. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/health/04glob.html?ref=health

An Article Accessed through a Database

Cite these articles as you would normally cite a print article. Provide database information only if the article is difficult to locate.

APA style does not require writers to provide the item number or accession number for articles retrieved from databases. You may choose to do so if the article is difficult to locate or the database is an obscure one. Check with your professor to see if this is something he or she would like you to include.

An Abstract of an Article

Format these as you would an article citation, but add the word Abstract in brackets after the title.

Bradley, U., Spence, M., Courtney, C. H., McKinley, M. C., Ennis, C. N., McCance, D. R.…Hunter, S. J. (2009). Low-fat versus low-carbohydrate weight reduction diets: Effects on weight loss, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular risk: A randomized control trial [Abstract]. Diabetes , 58 (12), 2741–2748. http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2009/08/23/db00098.abstract

A Nonperiodical Web Document

The ways you cite different nonperiodical web documents may vary slightly from source to source, depending on the information that is available. In your citation, include as much of the following information as you can:

• Name of the author(s), whether an individual or organization
• Date of publication (Use n.d. if no date is available.)
• Title of the document
• Address where you retrieved the document

If the document consists of more than one web page within the site, link to the homepage or the entry page for the document.

American Heart Association. (2010). Heart attack, stroke, and cardiac arrest warning signs. Retrieved from http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053

An Entry from an Online Encyclopedia or Dictionary

Because these sources often do not include authors’ names, you may list the title of the entry at the beginning of the citation. Provide the URL for the specific entry.

Addiction. (n.d.) In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary . Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addiction

If you cite raw data compiled by an organization, such as statistical data, provide the URL where you retrieved the information. Provide the name of the organization that sponsors the site.

US Food and Drug Administration. (2009). Nationwide evaluation of X-ray trends: NEXT surveys performed [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationSafety/NationwideEvaluationofX- RayTrendsNEXT/ucm116508.htm

Graphic Data

When citing graphic data—such as maps, pie charts, bar graphs, and so on—include the name of the organization that compiled the information, along with the publication date. Briefly describe the contents in brackets. Provide the URL where you retrieved the information. (If the graphic is associated with a specific project or document, list it after your bracketed description of the contents.)

US Food and Drug Administration. (2009). [Pie charts showing the percentage breakdown of the FDA’s budget for fiscal year 2005]. 2005 FDA budget summary . Retrieved from mhttp://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsForms/Reports/BudgetReports/2005FDABudgetSummary/ucm117231.htm

An Online Interview (Audio File or Transcript)

List the interviewer, interviewee, and date. After the title, include bracketed text describing the interview as an “Interview transcript” or “Interview audio file,” depending on the format of the interview you accessed. List the name of the website and the URL where you retrieved the information. Use the following format.

Davies, D. (Interviewer), & Pollan, M. (Interviewee). (2008). Michael Pollan offers president food for thought [Interview transcript]. Retrieved from National Public Radio website: http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=100755362

An Electronic Book

Electronic books may include books available as text files online or audiobooks. If an electronic book is easily available in print, cite it as you would a print source. If it is unavailable in print (or extremely difficult to find), use the format in the example. (Use the words Available from in your citation if the book must be purchased or is not available directly.)

Chisholm, L. (n.d.). Celtic tales. Retrieved from http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookReader?bookid= chicelt_00150014&twoPage=false&route=text&size=0&fullscreen=false&pnum1=1&lang= English&ilang=English

A Chapter from an Online Book or a Chapter or Section of a Web Document

These are treated similarly to their print counterparts with the addition of retrieval information. Include the chapter or section number in parentheses after the book title.

Hart, A. M. (1895). Restoratives—Coffee, cocoa, chocolate. In Diet in sickness and in health (VI). Retrieved from http://www.archive.org/details/dietinsicknessin00hartrich

A Dissertation or Thesis from a Database

Provide the author, date of publication, title, and retrieval information. If the work is numbered within the database, include the number in parentheses at the end of the citation.

Computer Software

For commonly used office software and programming languages, it is not necessary to provide a citation. Cite software only when you are using a specialized program, such as the nutrition tracking software in the following example. If you download software from a website, provide the version and the year if available.

Internet Brands, Inc. (2009). FitDay PC (Version 2) [Software]. Available from http://www.fitday.com/Pc/PcHome.html?gcid=14

A Post on a Blog or Video Blog

Citation guidelines for these sources are similar to those used for discussion forum postings. Briefly describe the type of source in brackets after the title.

Because the content may not be carefully reviewed for accuracy, discussion forums and blogs should not be relied upon as a major source of information. However, it may be appropriate to cite these sources for some types of research. You may also participate in discussion forums or comment on blogs that address topics of personal or professional interest. Always keep in mind that when you post, you are making your thoughts public—and in many cases, available through search engines. Make sure any posts that can easily be associated with your name are appropriately professional, because a potential employer could view them.

A Television or Radio Broadcast

Include the name of the producer or executive producer; the date, title, and type of broadcast; and the associated company and location.

West, Ty. (Executive producer). (2009, September 24). PBS special report: Health care reform [Television broadcast]. New York, NY, and Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service.

A Television or Radio Series or Episode

Include the producer and the type of series if you are citing an entire television or radio series.

Couture, D., Nabors, S., Pinkard, S., Robertson, N., & Smith, J. (Producers). (1979). The Diane Rehm show [Radio series]. Washington, DC: National Public Radio.

To cite a specific episode of a radio or television series, list the name of the writer or writers (if available), the date the episode aired, its title, and the type of series, along with general information about the series.

Bernanke, J., & Wade, C. (2010, January 10). Hummingbirds: Magic in the air [Television series episode]. In F. Kaufman (Executive producer), Nature. New York, NY: WNET.

A Motion Picture

Name the director or producer (or both), year of release, title, country of origin, and studio.

Spurlock, M. (Director/producer), Morley, J. (Executive producer), & Winters. H. M. (Executive producer). (2004). Super size me. United States: Kathbur Pictures in association with Studio on Hudson.

A Recording

Name the primary contributors and list their role. Include the recording medium in brackets after the title. Then list the location and the label.

Smith, L. W. (Speaker). (1999). Meditation and relaxation [CD]. New York, NY: Earth, Wind, & Sky Productions.

Székely, I. (Pianist), Budapest Symphony Orchestra (Performers), & Németh, G. (Conductor). (1988). Chopin piano concertos no. 1 and 2 [CD]. Hong Kong: Naxos.

Provide as much information as possible about the writer, director, and producer; the date the podcast aired; its title; any organization or series with which it is associated; and where you retrieved the podcast.

Kelsey, A. R. (Writer), Garcia, J. (Director), & Kim, S. C. (Producer). (2010, May 7). Lies food labels tell us. Savvy consumer podcasts [Audio podcast] . Retrieved from http://www.savvyconsumer.org/podcasts/050710

Revisit the references section you began to compile in Note 13.73 “Exercise 1” .

• Use the APA guidelines provided in this section to format any entries for electronic sources that you were unable to finish earlier.
• If your sources include a form of media not covered in the APA guidelines here, consult with a writing tutor or review a print or online reference book. You may wish to visit the website of the American Psychological Association at http://www.apa.org or the Purdue University Online Writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu , which regularly updates its online style guidelines.
• Give your paper a final edit to check the references section.

Key Takeaways

In APA papers, entries in the references section include as much of the following information as possible:

• Print sources. Author(s), date of publication, title, publisher, page numbers (for shorter works), editors (if applicable), and periodical title (if applicable).
• Online sources (text-based). Author(s), date of publication, title, publisher or sponsoring organization, and DOI or URL (if applicable).
• Electronic sources (non-text-based). Provide details about the creator(s) of the work, title, associated company or series, and date the work was produced or broadcast. The specific details provided will vary depending on the medium and the information that is available.
• Electronic sources (text-based). If an electronic source is also widely available in print form, it is sometimes unnecessary to provide details about how to access the electronic version. Check the guidelines for the specific source type.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

• TutorHome |
• IntranetHome |
• Contact the OU Contact the OU Contact the OU |
• Accessibility hub Accessibility hub
• StudentHome
• Help Centre

You are here

Help and support.

• Referencing and plagiarism

Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)

• Accessibility statement: Library

Print this page

There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database .

For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library’s page on referencing and plagiarism . If you need guidance referencing OU module material you can check out which sections of Cite Them Right are recommended when referencing physical and online module material .

This guide does not apply to OU Law undergraduate students . If you are studying a module beginning with W1xx, W2xx or W3xx, you should refer to the Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules .

Table of contents

In-text citations and full references.

• Secondary referencing
• Page numbers
• Citing multiple sources published in the same year by the same author

Full reference examples

Referencing consists of two elements:

• in-text citations, which are inserted in the body of your text and are included in the word count. An in-text citation gives the author(s) and publication date of a source you are referring to. If the publication date is not given, the phrase 'no date' is used instead of a date. If using direct quotations or you refer to a specific section in the source you also need the page number/s if available, or paragraph number for web pages.
• full references, which are given in alphabetical order in reference list at the end of your work and are not included in the word count. Full references give full bibliographical information for all the sources you have referred to in the body of your text.

To see a reference list and intext citations check out this example assignment on Cite Them Right .

Difference between reference list and bibliography

a reference list only includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text

a bibliography includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text AND sources that were part of your background reading that you did not use in your assignment

Back to top

Examples of in-text citations

You need to include an in-text citation wherever you quote or paraphrase from a source. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author(s), the year of publication, and a page number if relevant. There are a number of ways of incorporating in-text citations into your work - some examples are provided below. Alternatively you can see examples of setting out in-text citations in Cite Them Right .

Note: When referencing a chapter of an edited book, your in-text citation should give the author(s) of the chapter.

Online module materials

(Includes written online module activities, audio-visual material such as online tutorials, recordings or videos).

When referencing material from module websites, the date of publication is the year you started studying the module.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

OR, if there is no named author:

The Open University (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Rietdorf, K. and Bootman, M. (2022) 'Topic 3: Rare diseases'. S290: Investigating human health and disease . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1967195 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

The Open University (2022) ‘3.1 The purposes of childhood and youth research’. EK313: Issues in research with children and young people . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1949633&section=1.3 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:

The Open University (2022) ‘Video 2.7 An example of a Frith-Happé animation’. SK298: Brain, mind and mental health . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2013014&section=4.9.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

The Open University (2022) ‘Audio 2 Interview with Richard Sorabji (Part 2)’. A113: Revolutions . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1960941&section=5.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

Note: if a complete journal article has been uploaded to a module website, or if you have seen an article referred to on the website and then accessed the original version, reference the original journal article, and do not mention the module materials. If only an extract from an article is included in your module materials that you want to reference, you should use secondary referencing, with the module materials as the 'cited in' source, as described above.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of message', Title of discussion board , in Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Fitzpatrick, M. (2022) ‘A215 - presentation of TMAs', Tutor group discussion & Workbook activities , in A215: Creative writing . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=4209566 (Accessed: 24 January 2022).

Note: When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, reference as a printed book.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title . Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.

For ebooks that do not contain print publication details

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book . Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date).

Example with one author:

Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project . Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy . Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-ebooks (Accessed: 23 June 2021).

Example with two or three authors:

Goddard, J. and Barrett, S. (2015) The health needs of young people leaving care . Norwich: University of East Anglia, School of Social Work and Psychosocial Studies.

Example with four or more authors:

Young, H.D. et al. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics . San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.

Note: You can choose one or other method to reference four or more authors (unless your School requires you to name all authors in your reference list) and your approach should be consistent.

Note: Books that have an editor, or editors, where each chapter is written by a different author or authors.

Surname of chapter author, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter or section', in Initial. Surname of book editor (ed.) Title of book . Place of publication: publisher, Page reference.

Franklin, A.W. (2012) 'Management of the problem', in S.M. Smith (ed.) The maltreatment of children . Lancaster: MTP, pp. 83–95.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference.

If accessed online:

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference. Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326.

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326. Available at: https://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/log... (Accessed: 27 January 2023).

Barke, M. and Mowl, G. (2016) 'Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?', Journal of Tourism History , 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Mansell, W. and Bloom, A. (2012) ‘£10,000 carrot to tempt physics experts’, The Guardian , 20 June, p. 5.

Roberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (2013) 'US draft resolution allows Obama 90 days for military action against Syria', The Guardian , 4 September. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/syria-strikes-draft-resolut... (Accessed: 9 September 2015).

Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Organisation (Year that the page was last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Robinson, J. (2007) Social variation across the UK . Available at: https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/social-variation... (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

The British Psychological Society (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct . Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct (Accessed: 22 March 2019).

Note: Cite Them Right Online offers guidance for referencing webpages that do not include authors' names and dates. However, be extra vigilant about the suitability of such webpages.

Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Kitton, J. (2013) Golden sunset . Available at: https://www.jameskittophotography.co.uk/photo_8692150.html (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

stanitsa_dance (2021) Cossack dance ensemble . Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2023).

Note: If no title can be found then replace it with a short description.

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Getting started with the online library
• Disabled user support
• Finding resources for your assignment
• Finding ejournals and articles
• Access eresources using Google Scholar
• Help with online resources
• Finding and using books and theses
• Finding information on your research topic
• Canllaw Cyflym i Gyfeirnodi Harvard (Cite Them Right)
• Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules
• The Classical Studies guide to referencing
• Bibliographic management
• What if I cannot find the reference type I need in my referencing guide?
• I have found a web page with no author, date or publisher - how do I reference it?
• Identifying a source
• Training and skills
• Study materials
• Using other libraries and SCONUL Access
• Borrowing at the Walton Hall Library
• OU Glossary
• Contacting the helpdesk

Smarter searching with library databases

Wednesday, 24 July, 2024 - 19:30

Learn how to access library databases, take advantage of the functionality they offer, and devise a proper search technique.

Library Helpdesk

Chat to a Librarian  - Available 24/7

Other ways to contact the Library Helpdesk

The Open University

• Study with us
• Work with us
• Supported distance learning
• Funding your studies
• International students
• Global reputation
• Sustainability
• Apprenticeships
• Develop your workforce
• News & media
• Contact the OU

Undergraduate

• Arts and Humanities
• Art History
• Business and Management
• Combined Studies
• Computing and IT
• Counselling
• Creative Arts
• Creative Writing
• Criminology
• Early Years
• Electronic Engineering
• Engineering
• Environment
• Film and Media
• Health and Social Care
• Health and Wellbeing
• Health Sciences
• International Studies
• Mathematics
• Mental Health
• Nursing and Healthcare
• Religious Studies
• Social Sciences
• Social Work
• Software Engineering
• Sport and Fitness

Postgraduate

• Postgraduate study
• Research degrees
• Masters in Social Work (MA)
• Masters in Economics (MSc)
• Masters in Creative Writing (MA)
• Masters in Education (MA/MEd)
• Masters in Engineering (MSc)
• Masters in English Literature (MA)
• Masters in History (MA)
• Masters in International Relations (MA)
• Masters in Finance (MSc)
• Masters in Cyber Security (MSc)
• Masters in Psychology (MSc)
• A to Z of Masters degrees
• OU Accessibility statement
• Conditions of use
• Privacy policy
• Cookie policy
• Manage cookie preferences
• Modern slavery act (pdf 149kb)

Follow us on Social media

• Student Policies and Regulations
• Student Charter
• System Status
• Contact the OU Contact the OU
• Modern Slavery Act (pdf 149kb)

© . . .

How to set out references

Our guide to helping you compile bibliographies based on the Harvard system.

CIPD students can use this guide to help with the compilation of bibliographies. It sets out how to reference books, reports, journal articles and other material using the Harvard system.   

Print or electronic? 

Documents are published in ‘hard’ copy (printed), some are published in both ‘hard’ copy and electronically, while some are only published electronically on the web.  

Unlike printed material, there is no standard for web publishing so it can be difficult tracking down the main elements of a proper bibliographic reference. 

On this page

Books, reports and other monographs, journal articles, newspaper articles, conference papers and proceedings, official publications, extracts from speeches, visual and av materials, location and arrangement of references, sample bibliography.

In the Harvard system the year of publication appears after the name of the author. The citation order for a Harvard reference is:   

Author(s) or editor(s) or organisation(s) responsible for writing or compiling the book   Year of publication   Title and sub-title   Edition, if not the first   Place of publication   Publisher   

[H4] Tips  

Always cite the author(s) surname in the form in which it appears on the title page.   

Use initials for the author’s first name(s).   

Where there is more than one author, cite them in the order in which they appear on the title page.   

Where there are more than three authors, include only the first three.   

Sometimes the author is an organisation or government department. This is known as a corporate author. Always cite the corporate author(s) in the form in which it appears on the title page.   

Always cite the title which appears on the title page – sometimes this is different from what appears on the cover!   

Always give the full title, including any sub-title information which should appear after a colon , eg First line management: a practical approach.    

Always use italics for the title.   

Always use lower case for the title and the subtitle. Only use a capital letter for the first word of the title and for any proper nouns.   

Always record the place of publication as it appears on the item. Where a publisher has more than one office, this is usually the first named place.   

Always cite the publisher in the form it appears on the title page or back of the title page.   

Always make sure that you cite the publication date for the edition that you wish to refer to and include an edition statement , eg 2nd ed , where appropriate.   

If the author and the publisher are the same and the publisher is a corporate body also known by its acronym eg TUC you can use the acronym for the publisher as long as you put the corporate author’s name in full , eg Trades Union Congress (see Books with authors section for examples).   

If the author is a corporate body with a sub-body, the sub-body should be entered in lower cas e, eg DUNDEE UNIVERSITY. Department of History.   

If you can’t find the place of publication on the document but you know where th e publisher/body is based it is customary to put the place in square brackets: [London].   

Put ‘no date’ when the publication date is not available.   

 For electronic documents always include the URL of the web page where the document appears and include the date that you accessed the document on a website as material on websites is often removed.   

The list below provides examples of books with one, two and three authors.   

BURKEMAN, O. (2012) The antidote: happiness for people who can’t stand positive thinking. Edinburgh: Canongate.   

CORFIELD, T. (1998) An evaluation of the introduction and application of personal development plans at Commercial Union. [Unpublished MSc dissertation]. Sheffield: Sheffield Business School.   

DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS. (2006) Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system. [London]: DWP.   

GRAYLING, A.C. (2002) The meaning of things: applying philosophy to life. London: Phoenix.   

MACLEOD, D. and BRADY, C. (2008) The extra mile: how to engage your people to win. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.   

PINK, D. (2010) Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us. Edinburgh: Canongate.   

TRUSS, C., MANKIN, D. and KELLIHER, C. (2012) Strategic human resource management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.   

If a book has an editor(s) or a compiler rather than an author, it will need to be cited as the examples given below.   

BACH, S. and SISSON, K. (eds). (2000) Personnel management: a comprehensive guide to theory and practice. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Business.   

HØYRUP, S., BONNAFOUS-BOUCHER, M. and HASSE, C. (eds). (2012) Employee driven innovation: a new approach. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.   

KIRKPATRICK, D.L. (comp). (1975) Evaluating training programs: a collection of articles from the Journal of the American Society for Training and Development. Madison, WI: American Society for Training and Development.   

Sometimes you might want to cite chapters or comments which appear in other items. The correct format should be...In:   

For a chapter:   CHEN, X., BISHOP, J.W. and SCOTT, K.D. (2000) Teamwork in China: where reality challenges theory and practice. In: LUI, J.T., TSUI, A.S. and WELDON, E. (eds). Management and organizations in the Chinese context. New York: St. Martin’s Press. pp269-283.   

DOYLE, M. (2001) Management development. In: BEARDWELL, I. and HOLDEN, L. (eds). Human resource management: a contemporary approach. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education. pp369-431.   

TRUSS, C. (2012, forthcoming) The distinctiveness of HRM in the public sector. In: BURKE, R., NOBLET, A. and COOPER, C. (eds). HRM in the public sector. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.   

And for a comment:   DOYLE, M. (2001) In: BEARDWELL, I. and HOLDEN, L. (eds). Human resource management : a contemporary approach. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education. p2.   

MOYNAGH, M. and WORSLEY R. (2005) Working in the twenty-first century. Leeds: Economic & Social Research Council and King’s Lynn: The Tomorrow Project.   

Citing reports in Harvard is very much like citing books except you must include any series information and where they exist, series numbers. The list below gives examples of citations for reports including citations for web-based reports.   

BATES, P. and HUWS, U. (2002) Modelling e-work in Europe: estimates, models and forecasts from the emergence project. IES Report, No 388. Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies.   

CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT. (2012) Resourcing and talent planning: annual survey report 2012 [online]. London: CIPD.   Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/survey-reports/resourcing-talent-planning-2012.aspx [Accessed 10 May 2013].   

GREENAN, N. and LORENZ, E. (2009) Learning organisations: report prepared for OECD’s innovation strategy [online]. EDU Working Paper, EDU/WKP(2009)6. [Paris]: OECD. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/44191153.pdf [Accessed 26 February 2013].   

JOHNSTON, T. (2008) Knowledge and use of mediation in SMEs [online]. Research Paper, No 02/08. London: Acas. Available at: https:// www.acas.org.uk/researchpapers [Accessed 19 December 2012].   

LATRIELLE, P. (2011) Mediation: a thematic review of the Acas/CIPD evidence [online]. Research Paper, No 13/11. London: Acas. Available at: https:// www.acas.org.uk/researchpapers [Accessed 19 December 2012].   

SAINSBURY CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH. (2007) Mental health at work: developing the business case [online]. Policy Paper, No 8. London: Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. Available at: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-09/mental_health_at_work.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

TAYLOR, M., JENKINS, S. and SACKER, A. (2011) Financial capability, income and psychological wellbeing [online]. ISER Working Paper Series: 2011–18. Colchester: Institute for Social & Economic Research.   Available at: www.iser.essex.ac.uk/publications/working-papers/iser/2011-18.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

There are other kinds of monographs such as factsheets, guides etc that you may wish to cite. These are two examples from the CIPD website.  

CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT. (2011) Coaching and mentoring [online]. Factsheet. London: CIPD. Available at: www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/coaching-mentoring.aspx [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT. (2006) Workplace financial education: a win-win proposition [online]. Guide. London: CIPD. Available at: www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/  

In the Harvard system the year of publication appears after the name of the author. The citation order for a Harvard reference for a journal article is:   

Author(s)   Year of publication   Title and sub-title   Title of journal   Volume and issue number or month   Pages numbers of the article   

Tips  

Always cite the author(s) in the form in which it appears in the article.  

Where there is more than one author, cite them in the order in which they appear.  

Where there are more than three authors, include only the first three.  

Always give the full title, including any sub-title information which should appear after a colon.  

Always use lower case for the title and the subtitle. Only use a capital letter for the first word of the title and for any proper nouns.  

Always use italics for the title of the journal.  

Always give the full reference to the item including volume, part number and/or month and year.  

And don’t forget the pages!  

The list below provides examples of references for journal articles with authors.  

CHIARONI, D., CHIESA, V. and FRATTINI, F. (2011) The open innovation journey: how firms dynamically implement the emerging innovation management paradigm. Technovation. Vol 31, No 1, January. pp34-43.   

LUBKE, G. H. and MUTHEN, B. (2005) Investigating population heterogeneity with factor mixture models. Psychological Methods. Vol 10, No 1. pp21-39. Available at: http://www.statmodel.com/download/psymeth.pdf [Accessed 26 February 2013].   

SAMMER, J. (2012) Financial education – stress = improved productivity. HR Magazine. Vol 57, No 6, June. pp71–76.  

SHANTZ, A., ALFES, K. and TRUSS, C. (2012, forthcoming) Alienation from work: Marxist ideologies and 21st century practice. International Journal of Human Resource Management.  

Articles with no obvious personal authors are quite common. The following is an example of a citation.   

In safe hands: coping with aggression in the NHS. (2001) IRS Employment Review . No 738, 15 October. pp40-42.  

Sometimes you may wish to cite a journal without specifying a particular article. If so you will need to include the International Standard Serial Number or ISSN. ISSNs have been used since the 1970s and are a universally accepted way of identifying serials. Do bear in mind that a printed journal will have a different ISSN from the online version of the same journal.   

Employee Benefits. ISSN 1366-8722 (print format).   

Competency and Emotional Intelligence Quarterly. ISSN 1469-333X (print format).   

Competency and Emotional Intelligence Quarterly. ISSN 1469-3321 (electronic format).  

Articles with authors  

PEACOCK, L. (2013) Premier Inn to create 500 apprenticeships. Telegraph . 14 March.   

PERLROTH, N. (2013) Researchers find 25 countries using surveillance software. New York Times . 13 March.   

Articles with no authors  

Civil servants may transfer to private sector. (2012) Irish Times. 26 July.   

Howlin faces public pay battle as unions reveal guarantees. (2012) Irish Independent. 1 June.   

UK austerity in a world awash with money. (2013) Guardian . 14 March.  

Sometimes papers which have featured at conferences can be difficult to trace especially if the only record you have is an online one. The examples below have identifiable authors, titles, series statements, places of publication and publishers but this might not always be the case.   

BOYATZIS, R., JACK, A. and CESARO. R. (2010) Coaching with compassion: an FMRI study of coaching to the positive and negative emotional attractor. Academy of Management 2010 Best Paper Proceedings . Briarcliff Manor, NY: Academy of Management.   

SHIPPER, F. and WEER, C. (2011) A longitudinal investigation of the impact of positive and negative coaching on team effectiveness. Presented at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2011, San Antonio,Texas . Briarcliff Manor, NY: Academy of Management.   

The following are examples of citations for UK Acts of Parliament, Statutory Instruments, Government Command Papers and Hansard. Most of these documents are available online.  

Localism Act 2011 . (2011) [online ] London: The Stationery Office. Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/20/pdfs/ukpga_20110020_en.pdf [Accessed 3 October 2012].   

Equal Pay Act 1970 (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005. (2005) SI 2005/145 [online]. London: The Stationery Office.  Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2005/145/pdfs/nisr_20050145_en.pdf  [Accessed 13 March 2013].   

The Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002. (2002) SI 2002/ 034 [online]. London: The Stationery Office. Available at : http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2034/pdfs/uksi_20022034_en.pdf  [Accessed 13 March 2013].  

Command papers are Green Papers, White Papers and other Government publications. They are always referenced with an abbreviation of Command plus the serial number. The abbreviation of Command has existed in various forms depending on the time periods. Most of these documents are available online.  

Command papers from 1900-1918 are cited Cd   

Command papers from 1919-1956 are cited Cmd   

Command papers from 1956-1986 are cited Cmnd   

Command papers from 1987 onwards are cited Cm  

HOME DEPARTMENT. (2012) Statement of changes in immigration rules [online]. Cm 8337. London: The Stationery Office. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-cm8337-april-2012 [Accessed 11 March 2013].   

HOME DEPARTMENT. (2011) Independent review of police officer and staff remuneration and conditions: part 1 report [the Winsor report] [online]. Cm 8024. London: The Stationery Office. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-police-officer-and-staff-remuneration-and-conditions-final-report [Accessed 3 October 2012].  

House of Lords debates on bills, delegated legislation, statements, questions, introductions, general debates and grand committees are available online from November 1995 by date. Commons debates, statements and written answers are available online by date from November 1988.   

There are various ways of citing Hansard but the preferred way is first the relevant House, the date, the volume and the column reference. It is also helpful to add “WA” to indicate a written answer, “WS” to indicate a written statement and “GC” for a grand committee. The Lords cite the column references differently from the Commons. You can add in a link to the actual page if you think that it would be helpful. The date that you accessed the document is probably unnecessary as the information is unlikely to be removed from the website.  

HL Hansard Deb. 14 January 2014. Vol 742, C513-514.   

HL Hansard Deb. 14 January 2014. Vol 742, CGC124-126.   

HL Hansard Deb. 25 February 2013. Vol 743, CWS75.   

HL Hansard Deb. 25 February 2013. Vol 743, CWA75.   

HC Hansard Deb. 23 January 2013. Vol 557, C11WS.   

HC Hansard Deb. 23 January 2013 Vol 557, C373WA.   

HC Hansard Deb. 15 January 2013 Vol 556, C717.  

Other official publications

HOME OFFICE. (2012) Immigration (employment-related settlement, overseas domestic workers: Tier 5 of the points-based system and visitors) – WMS. This written ministerial statement was laid in the House of Commons on 29 February 2012 by Theresa May, and in the House of Lords by Lord Henley [online]. London: Home Office. Available at : https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/immigration-employment-related-settlement-overseas-domestic-workers-tier-5-of-the-points-based-system-and-visitors-wms [Accessed 11 March 2013].   

HOME OFFICE. (2013) Statement of intent: codes of practice for skilled workers [online]. London: Home Office. Available at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/immigration/soi-cop-skilled-workers?view=Binary [Accessed 11 March 2013].   

MIGRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (2012) Analysis of the impacts of migration [online]. London: Migration Advisory Committee. Available at: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/workingwithus/mac/27-analysis-migration/01-analysis-report/analysis-of-the-impacts?view=Binary [Accessed 11 March 2013].   

OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS. (2010) Standard occupational classification 2010 [online]. (SOC 2010). Newport: ONS. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/classificationsandstandards/standardoccupationalclassificationsoc/soc2010 [Accessed 11 March 2013].   

UK BORDER AGENCY. (2013) Immigration rules [online]. [London]: UK Border Agency. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-rules-archive-1-july-to-31-july-2013 [Accessed 11 March 2013].   

HM GOVERNMENT. (2012) Open public services [online]. London: HM Government. Available at: http://files.openpublicservices.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/HMG_OpenPublicServices_web.pdf [Accessed 3 October 2012].   

MACLEOD, D. and CLARKE, N. (2009) Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement [the Macleod report] [online]. London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.   

Available at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20121205082246/http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file52215.pdf [Accessed 3 October 2012].  

The following are examples of European Union publications.   

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES. (2009) Proposal for a Council directive implementing the revised framework agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing directive 96/34/EC [online ]. COM(2009) 410 final. Brussels: Commission of the European Communities. Available at: http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0410:FIN:EN:PDF [Accessed 11 March 2013] .   

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES. (2008) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a European Parliament and Council directive on temporary agency work: political agreement on a common position (QMV) [online]. COM(2008) 569 final. Brussels: Commission of the European Communities. Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0569:FIN:EN:PDF [Accessed 11 March 2013].  

CAMERON, D. (2011) “ The real issue is this: migrants are filling gaps in the labour market left wide open by a welfare system that for years has paid British people not to work. That's where the blame lies – at the door of our woeful welfare system, and the last government who comprehensively failed to reform it” [online]. In: Speech by David Cameron on immigration in Romsey, Hampshire, 14 April 2011. London: Conservative Party.   Available at: http://www.conservatives.com/News/Speeches/2011/04/David_Cameron_Good_immigration_not_mass_immigration.aspx [Accessed 11 March 2013].   

MILIBAND. E. (2012) “Where there are sectors in which the migrant share of the workforce has dramatically increased, it can be a sign that we haven’t done enough to equip young people with the skills they need to compete” [online]. In: Speech by Ed Miliband given with the Institute for Public Policy Research, 22 June 2012. London: Labour Party.   Available at: http://www.labour.org.uk/to-deal-with-peoples-concerns-on-immigration-we-must-change-how- [Accessed 11 March 2013].  

Increasingly we need to provide references to multimedia. The following are some examples. Try to get the editor or author or compiler name, title of the resource, name of hosting site (if appropriate), publisher, place of publication (if appropriate), date created and access date.  

CANFIELD, J. (1991) Self-esteem and peak performance [audio cassette]. Milton Keynes: Careertrack Tapes.  

CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT. (2006) Leadership: episode 2 [podcast]. London: CIPD. http://www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts [Accessed 8 May 2007].   

GILLEN, T. (2009) Persuade, influence and negotiate [DVD]. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.   

Newsnight [television programme]. (2013) BBC 2, 14 March. 10.30pm.   

VARDAMAN, J. (2010) Human resource management: lecture 1, part 3 [video] . YouTube. 10 March. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yByQgZK09Dc [Accessed 15 March 2013].

The references should always appear at the end of the text.   

References should be listed in alphabetical order of the author’s name and then by year and by letter.   

Where an entry lacks an author, the entry should be listed by title and interfiled with the authors as shown below.   

Quoting references in the text  

In the Harvard system, the year of publication is given after the name of the author.  

In a recent report (Taylor 2002) it was suggested that…   

If there are two authors   

In a recent report (Taylor and Brown 2002) it was suggested that…   

If there are more than two authors   

In a recent report (Taylor et al 2002) it was suggested that   

If you wish to cite individual pages, quote or paraphrase the content of a document, the page number(s) should be included after the date and separated by a comma   

In a recent report (Taylor and Brown 2002, p236)   

In a recent report (Taylor and Brown 2002, pp236-238)   

Where you need to cite more than one work published in the same year by the same author, you can indicate this as follows:  

I n a recent report (Taylor 2002a)   

In a recent report (Taylor 2002b) etc   

AVIVA. (2012) Working lives: a research report into employer and employee attitudes to saving in the workplace [online]. Edition 1. London: Aviva. Available at: www.aviva.com/data/report-library/WORKING_LIVES.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT. (2012) Learning methods [online]. Factsheet. London: CIPD. Available at: www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/learning-methods.aspx [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT. (2012) Reward management survey 2012 [online]. Survey report. London: CIPD. Available at: www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/survey-reports/reward-management-2012.aspx [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. (2012) Employee Benefits/Alexander Forbes benefits research 2012 [online]. London: Employee Benefits. Available at: www.employeebenefits.co.uk/download/6411/BB_0512_RESEARCH.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY. (2005) Promoting pensions to employees: a guide for employers [online]. London: FSA. Available at: www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/other/guide4employers.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY. (2012) Changes to the way you get financial advice [online]. London: FSA. Available at: www.fsa.gov.uk/static/pubs/consumer_info/rdr-consumer-guide.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

In safe hands: coping with aggression in the NHS. (2001) IRS Employment Review . No 738, 15 October. pp40-42.   

LIFE ACADEMY. (2012) Your retirement 2012/2013. Planning for retirement: a practical guide. Guildford: Life Academy .   

METLIFE. (2012) 10th Annual study of employee benefits trends: seeing opportunity in shifting tides [online]. New York: MetLife. Available at: www.metlife.com/assets/institutional/services/insights-and-tools/ebts/ml-10-Annual-EBTS.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SAVINGS TRUST. (2012) NEST’s golden rules of communication [online]. Guide. London: NEST. Available at: www.nestpensions.org.uk/schemeweb/NestWeb/includes/public/docs/golden-rules-of-communication,PDF.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2012].   

SENGE, P. (1990) The leader’s new work: building learning organizations. Sloan Management Review. Vol 32, No 1. pp7-23.   

SENGE, P. (1992) The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. London: Century Business.   

SENGE, P., ROBERTS, C. and ROSS, R.B. (1994) The fifth discipline fieldbook: strategies and tools for building a learning organization. London: Nicholas Brealey.  

An academic essay is a formal piece of writing which presents an argument to the reader. Learn how to write persuasive and robust academic essays.

A critical review is a detailed analysis and assessment of a piece of writing. Understand how to write a critical review that is valid, sound and unbiased.

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• College University and Postgraduate
• Academic Writing

How to Reference Essays

Last Updated: January 8, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alexander Peterman, MA . Alexander Peterman is a Private Tutor in Florida. He received his MA in Education from the University of Florida in 2017. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 372,845 times.

When you begin writing a research essay, you must take into account the format of your writing and reference pages. There are several reference styles that may be assigned to you, including MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago. Each one has its own set of rules. There's no need to familiarize yourself with all 3 unless you have to, but you do need to learn at least one if you’re in any field involving academic writing. Here are summaries of each style to help you start your essay on the right track.

Referencing Essays Templates

• You will need a citation directly after every sentence (or group of sentences if you're citing the same source in multiple consecutive sentences) containing information you didn't think of yourself. These include: paraphrases, facts, statistics, quotes, and examples.
• An in-text citation using MLA will simply have the author last name (or title if no author) followed by the page number. No comma between author and page number. For example: (Richards 456) Richards is the author last name, and 456 is the page number.
• If you have an author name (or title, if no author) but no page number, simply use author last name (or title).

• The easiest way to keep track of MLA citations while doing research is to copy and paste copyright information into a word processing document as you go, or to write it down in a notebook.
• Things to include for any source are author(s), date published, publisher, page number, volume and issue number, website, date accessed, anything that appears on the copyright page or indicates how to find it again. [2] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

• As an example, the format for a standard book citation using MLA style is as follows: Last name of author, First name. Title of Book. City published: Publisher Name, Year published. Source Medium.
• An MLA website citation looks like the following. If there's no author listed, begin citation with the name of the page: Last name, first name. "Page Title." Website Title. Publisher. Date published. Source Medium. Date accessed.
• An MLA scholarly article citation looks like the following: Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal . Volume.Issue (Year): page numbers. Source Medium.
• Write the title of the main work (book, magazine, journal, website, etc.) in italics, or underline if you’re writing references by hand.
• Chapter or article titles should be in quotation marks.

• If there is no author listed, as is common on websites, simply skip the author’s name and begin the entry with the title of the work.
• Alphabetize by the first letter that appears in the entry, whether it has an author name or not.

• The formatting should be in Times New Roman font, size 12, with “Works Cited” centered at the top of a new page.
• Each entry should have hanging indent, meaning all lines below the first line are indented by half an inch.
• Make sure there is a period after each section of the citations. A period should always end the citation.

• Place a parenthetical citation at the end of every sentence (or group of sentences if you're using the same source for multiple consecutive sentences) containing information you didn't know before doing research.
• An in-text citation using APA will simply have the author last name (or title if no author) followed by the year it was published. No comma between name and year. For example: (Richards 2005) Richards is the author last name, and 2005 is the year.
• If you have an author name (or title if no author) but no page number, simply use author last name (or title). This is common when citing websites.
• APA document formatting is very important. APA papers are divided up into 4 sections: the title page, the abstract, the main body, and the references page. The citations of a research paper using APA appear in the References section, the last portion of an APA document. [7] X Research source

• To form APA reference page citations, you will need such information as author name(s), date published, website URL, date you accessed the website, title of work, and so on. [8] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

• For example, the format for an APA reference of a scholarly journal article is as follows: Author last name, First initial. (Year published). Article or chapter title. Journal or book title, Issue number , page number range. [10] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source
• The format for an APA book reference looks like: Last name, First name. (Year.) Title of Book: Capital letter also for subtitle . Location: Publisher.
• The format for an APA website reference looks like: Author, A.A. First name, & Author, B.B. (Date published.) Title of article. In Title of webpage or larger document or book (chapter or section number). Retrieved from URL address

• Capitalize the author's last name and first initial, followed by a period.
• Only capitalize the first word of a journal article title, unless the title contains a proper noun (called sentence case). Titles of books should preserve the published capitalization.
• Capitalize the city of publication, and use correct state abbreviations for states. Also capitalize the name of the publisher and end the reference with a period.
• The title of larger works, whether a book, journal, website, or magazine, is in italics (or underlined if handwriting), as is the issue number that appears right after the title. Titles for shorter works like articles and chapters should not have any indicative punctuation in an APA entry. [12] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source
• A period should end all citations.

Using Chicago Manual of Style

• For Notes and Bibliography, you will use a superscript at the instance of each quote in the text with a corresponding footnote at the end of the page. All footnotes are compiled into endnotes at the end of the work, on the bibliography page. [14] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source
• For Author Date, you will use parenthetical in-text citations that include author last name and year published, using no punctuation between name and year. The full version of each parenthetical citation is listed alphabetically on the references page. For example: (Simon 2011) Simon is the author last name, and 2011 is the year.
• You will need a citation directly after every sentence (or group of sentences if you're using the same source for multiple consecutive sentences) containing information you didn't think of yourself. These include: paraphrases, facts, statistics, quotes, and examples.

• If using a book, write down all pertinent information found on the copyright page, including the name of the publisher and the city and year of publication.
• For other sources, look for this information near the title of the piece you’re looking at. Publication date is often at the bottom of webpages.

• Title your references page “Bibliography” centered at the top of the page. Leave 2 blank lines between this title and the first entry, and one blank line between entries.
• Notes and Bibliography style uses footnotes for page endings and endnotes for chapter endings. The bibliography page will be an alphabetized list of all sources in hanging indent.
• An example format for a book is as follows: Last name, First name. Book Title . City: Publisher, Year.
• An example format for a chapter in a print scholarly journal is as follows: Author last name, first name. "Title of Chapter or Article." Book or journal Title Issue Number (Year): Page number range. (For an online scholarly journal article, tack on the following at the end: Date accessed. URL address.)
• When there is no known author, the entry should begin with the title of the document, whether it's a webpage, chapter, article, and so on.
• When there are multiple authors, the first listed author appears last name, first name, so that the citation is alphabetized by this author's last name. Subsequent authors are listed by first name, like this: Alcott, Louisa May, Charles Dickens, and Elizabeth Gaskell.
• Always end a citation with a period.

• When using Author Date style, title your references page “References” centered at the top of the page. Leave 2 blank lines between this title and the first entry, and 1 blank line between entries.
• Author Date style bibliographies should be organized alphabetically by last name (or by title if no author) in hanging indent.
• An example format for a book is as follows: Last name, first name. Year. Book Title . City Published: Publisher.
• An example format for a chapter in a print scholarly journal is as follows: Author last name, first name. Year. "Title of Chapter or Article." Book or journal title issue number: page numbers. (for an online scholarly journal article tack this onto the end: Date accessed. URL address.)
• An example format for a website is as follows: Name of Website. Year. "Page Title." Date last modified. Date accessed. URL address.

Expert Q&A

• You don't have to write each bibliography or reference entry on your own. You can download citation management software like Endnote [17] X Research source (purchase required on this one), Zotero [18] X Research source (it's free), or use websites like http://www.bibme.org/ and http://www.easybib.com/ . Select the name of your style manual before you begin creating citations. Copy and paste the citation into your bibliography or references list. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you are assigned to write a paper or other written document in one of these styles, you need to purchase the style manual. It will contain nearly every instance not only of source citation, but paper formatting as well as grammar and punctuation that is unique to that style. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• This article only lists how to cite research for each style manual. Each style has its own instructions for setting up the format of the essay, including heading, spacing, margins, font, and so on. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_electronic_sources.html
• ↑ https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/apa/reference-list
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_basic_rules.html
• ↑ https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/chicago_manual_of_style_17th_edition.html
• ↑ http://guides.nyu.edu/c.php?g=276562&p=1844734
• ↑ http://endnote.com
• ↑ https://www.zotero.org

About This Article

To reference an essay using MLA style, add a citation after any information you found through a source, like facts or quotes. When citing the reference, include the author’s name and the page number you pulled the information from in parenthesis, like “(Richards 456).” Once you’ve finished your essay, add a Words Cited page with all of the information you used to research your essay, like books or articles. To create a Works Cited page, list the sources in alphabetical order using the author’s last name, and include additional information, like year published and the medium. For more tips from our Writing reviewer, like how to reference an essay using APA style, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Alicia Hammond

Sep 20, 2021

Did this article help you?

Oct 30, 2019

Brenda Nats

Jun 14, 2021

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

How to Reference in an Essay (9 Strategies of Top Students)

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

Learn about our Editorial Process

Are you feeling overwhelmed by referencing?

When you’re first asked to do referencing in an essay it can be hard to get your head around it. If it’s been a while since you were first taught how to reference, it can be intimidating to ask again how to do it!

I have so many students who consistently lose marks just because they didn’t get referencing right! They’re either embarrassed to ask for extra help or too lazy to learn how to solve the issues.

So, here’s a post that will help you solve the issues on your own.

Already think you’re good at referencing? No worries. This post goes through some surprising and advanced strategies for anyone to improve no matter what level you are at!

In this post I’m going to show you exactly how to reference in an essay. I’ll explain why we do it and I’ll show you 9 actionable tips on getting referencing right that I’m sure you will not have heard anywhere else!

The post is split into three parts:

• What is a Reference and What is a Citation?
• Why Reference? (4 Things you Should Know)
• How to Reference (9 Strategies of Top Students)

If you think you’ve already got a good understanding of the basics, you can jump to our 9 Advanced Strategies section.

Part 1: What is a Reference and What is a Citation?

What is a citation.

An in-text mention of your source. A citation is a short mention of the source you got the information from, usually in the middle or end of a sentence in the body of your paragraph. It is usually abbreviated so as not to distract the reader too much from your own writing. Here’s two examples of citations. The first is in APA format. The second is in MLA format:

• APA: Archaeological records trace the original human being to equatorial Africa about 250,000–350,000 years ago (Schlebusch & Jakobsson, 2018) .
• MLA: Archaeological records trace the original human being to equatorial Africa about 250,000–350,000 years ago (Schlebusch and Jakobsson 1) .

In APA format, you’ve got the authors and year of publication listed. In MLA format, you’ve got the authors and page number listed. If you keep reading, I’ll give some more tips on formatting further down in this article.

And a Reference is:

What is a Reference?

A reference is the full details of a source that you list at the end of the article. For every citation (see above) there needs to be a corresponding reference at the end of the essay showing more details about that source. The idea is that the reader can see the source in-text (i.e. they can look at the citation) and if they want more information they can jump to the end of the page and find out exactly how to go about finding the source.

Here’s how you would go about referencing the Schlebusch and Jakobsson source in a list at the end of the essay. Again, I will show you how to do it in APA and MLA formats:

• APA: Schlebusch, C. & Jakobsson, M. (2018). Tales of Human Migration, Admixture, and Selection in Africa. Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics , 11 (33), 1–24.
• MLA: Schlebusch, Carina and Mattias Jakobsson. “Tales of Human Migration, Admixture, and Selection in Africa.” Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics , vol. 11, no. 33, 2018, pp. 1–24.

In strategy 1 below I’ll show you the easiest and fool proof way to write these references perfectly every time.

One last quick note: sometimes we say ‘reference’ when we mean ‘citation’. That’s pretty normal. Just roll with the punches. It’s usually pretty easy to pick up on what our teacher means regardless of whether they use the word ‘reference’ or ‘citation’.

Part 2: Why Reference in an Essay? (4 Things you Should Know)

Referencing in an essay is important. By the time you start doing 200-level courses, you probably won’t pass the course unless you reference appropriately. So, the biggest answer to ‘why reference?’ is simple: Because you Have To!

Okay let’s be serious though … here’s the four top ‘real’ reasons to reference:

1. Referencing shows you Got an Expert’s Opinion

You can’t just write an essay on what you think you know. This is a huge mistake of beginning students. Instead this is what you need to do:

Top Tip: Essays at university are supposed to show off that you’ve learned new information by reading the opinions of experts.

Every time you place a citation in your paragraph, you’re showing that the information you’re presenting in that paragraph was provided to you by an expert. In other words, it means you consulted an expert’s opinion to build your knowledge.

If you have citations throughout the essay with links to a variety of different expert opinions, you’ll show your marker that you did actually genuinely look at what the experts said with an open mind and considered their ideas.

This will help you to grow your grades.

2. Referencing shows you read your Assigned Readings

Your teacher will most likely give you scholarly journal articles or book chapters to read for homework between classes. You might have even talked about those assigned readings in your seminars and tutorials.

Great! The assigned readings are very important to you.

You should definitely cite the assigned readings relevant to your essay topic in your evaluative essay (unless your teacher tells you not to). Why? I’ll explain below.

• Firstly, the assigned readings were selected by your teacher because your teacher (you know, the person who’s going to mark your essay) believes they’re the best quality articles on the topic. Translation: your teacher gave you the best source you’re going to find. Make sure you use it!
• Secondly, by citing the assigned readings you are showing your teacher that you have been paying attention throughout the course. You are showing your teacher that you have done your homework, read those assigned readings and paid attention to them. When my students submit an essay that has references to websites, blogs, wikis and magazines I get very frustrated. Why would you cite low quality non-expert sources like websites when I gave you the expert’s article!? Really, it frustrates me so, so much.

So, cite the assigned readings to show your teacher you read the scholarly articles your teacher gave to you. It’ll help you grow your marks.

3. Referencing deepens your Knowledge

Okay, so you understand that you need to use referencing to show you got experts’ opinions on the topic.

But there’s more to it than that. There’s actually a real benefit for your learning.

If you force yourself to cite two expert sources per paragraph, you’re actually forcing yourself to get two separate pieces of expert knowledge. This will deepen your knowledge!

So, don’t treat referencing like a vanity exercise to help you gain more marks. Actually view it as an opportunity to develop deeper understandings of the topic!

When you read expert sources, aim to pick up on some new gems of knowledge that you can discuss in your essays. Some things you should look out for when finding sources to reference:

• Examples that link ideas to real life. Do the experts provide real-life examples that you can mention in your essay?
• Facts and figures. Usually experts have conducted research on a topic and provide you with facts and figures from their research. Use those facts and figures to deepen your essay!
• Short Quotes. Did your source say something in a really interesting, concise or surprising way? Great! You can quote that source in your essay .
• New Perspectives. Your source might give you another perspective, angle or piece of information that you can add to your paragraph so that it’s a deep, detailed and interesting paragraph.

So, the reason we ask you to reference is at the end of the day because it’s good for you: it helps you learn!

4. Referencing backs up your Claims

You might think you already know a ton of information about the topic and be ready to share your mountains of knowledge with your teacher. Great!

So, should you still reference?

Yes. Definitely.

You need to show that you’re not the only person with your opinion. You need to ‘stand on the shoulders of giants.’ Show what other sources have said about your points to prove that experts agree with you.

You should be saying: this is my opinion and it’s based on facts, expert opinions and deep, close scrutiny of all the arguments that exist out there .

If you make a claim that no one else has made, your teacher is going to be like “Have you even been reading the evidence on this topic?” The answer, if there are no citations is likely: No. You haven’t.

Even if you totally disagree with the experts, you still need to say what their opinions are! You’ll need to say: “This is the experts’ opinions. And this is why I disagree.”

So, yes, you need to reference to back up every claim. Try to reference twice in every paragraph to achieve this.

Part 3: Strategies for How to Reference in an Essay (9 Strategies of Top Students)

Let’s get going with our top strategies for how to reference in an essay! These are strategies that you probably haven’t heard elsewhere. They work for everyone – from beginner to advanced! Let’s get started:

1. Print out your Reference Style Cheat Sheet

Referencing is hard and very specific. You need to know where to place your italics, where the commas go and whether to use an initial for full name for an author.

There are so many details to get right.

And here’s the bad news: The automated referencing apps and websites nearly always get it wrong! They tell you they can generate the citation for you. The fact of the matter is: they can’t!

Here’s the best way to get referencing right: Download a referencing cheat sheet and have it by your side while writing your essay.

Your assignment outline should tell you what type of referencing you should use. Different styles include: APA Style, MLA Style, Chicago Style, Harvard Style, Vancouver Style … and many more!

You need to find out which style you need to use and download your cheat sheet. You can jump onto google to find a cheat sheet by typing in the google bar:

Download a pdf version of the referencing style cheat sheet, print it out, and place it on your pinboard or by your side when writing your essay.

2. Only cite Experts

There are good and bad sources to cite in an essay.

You should only cite sources written, critiqued and edited by experts. This shows that you have got the skill of finding information that is authoritative. You haven’t just used information that any old person popped up on their blog. You haven’t just gotten information from your local newspaper. Instead, you got information from the person who is an absolute expert on the topic.

Here’s an infographic listing sources that you should and shouldn’t cite. Feel free to share this infographic on social media, with your teachers and your friends:

3. Always use Google Scholar

Always. Use. Google. Scholar.

Ten years ago students only had their online university search database to find articles. Those university databases suck. They rarely find the best quality sources and there’s always a big mix of completely irrelevant sources mixed in there.

Google Scholar is better at finding the sources you want. That’s because it looks through the whole article abstract and analyses it to see if it’s relevant to your search keywords. By contrast, most university search databases rely only on the titles of articles.

Use the power of the best quality search engine in the world to find scholarly sources .

Note: Google and Google Scholar are different search engines.

To use Google Scholar, go to: https://scholar.google.com

Then, search on google scholar using keywords. I’m going to search keywords for an essay on the topic: “What are the traits of a good nurse?”

If you really like the idea of that first source, I recommend copying the title and trying your University online search database. Your university may give you free access.

4. Cite at least 50% sources you found on your Own Research

Okay, so I’ve told you that you should cite both assigned readings and readings you find from Google Scholar.

Here’s the ideal mix of assigned sources and sources that you found yourself: 50/50.

Your teacher will want to see that you can use both assigned readings and do your own additional research to write a top essay . This shows you’ve got great research skills but also pay attention to what is provided in class.

I recommend that you start with the assigned readings and try to get as much information out of them, then find your own additional sources beyond that using Google Scholar.

So, if your essay has 10 citations, a good mix is 5 assigned readings and 5 readings you found by yourself.

5. Cite Newer Sources

As a general rule, the newer the source the better .

The best rule of thumb that most teachers follow is that you should aim to mostly cite sources from the past 10 years . I usually accept sources from the past 15 years when marking essays.

However, sometimes you have a really great source that’s 20, 30 or 40 years old. You should only cite these sources if they’re what we call ‘seminal texts’. A seminal text is one that was written by an absolute giant in your field and revolutionized the subject.

Here’s some examples of seminal authors whose old articles you would be able to cite despite the fact that they’re old:

• Education: Vygotsky, Friere, Piaget
• Sociology: Weber, Marx, C. Wright Mills
• Psychology: Freud, Rogers, Jung

Even if I cite seminal authors, I always aim for at least 80% of my sources to have been written in the past 10 years.

6. Reference twice per Paragraph

How much should you reference?

Here’s a good strategy: Provide two citations in every paragraph in the body of the essay.

It’s not compulsory to reference in the introduction and conclusion . However, in all the other paragraphs, aim for two citations.

Let’s go over the key strategies for achieving this:

• These two citations should be to different sources, not the same sources twice;
• Two citations per paragraph shows your points are backed up by not one, but two expert sources;
• Place one citation in the first half of the paragraph and one in the second half. This will indicate to your marker that all the points in the whole paragraph are backed up by your citations.

This is a good rule of thumb for you when you’re not sure when and how often to reference. When you get more confident with your referencing, you can mix this up a little.

7. The sum total of your sources should be minimum 1 per 150 words

You can, of course, cite one source more than once throughout the essay. You might cite the same source in the second, fourth and fifth paragraphs. That’s okay.

But, you don’t want your whole essay to be based on a narrow range of sources. You want your marker to see that you have consulted multiple sources to get a wide range of information on the topic. Your marker wants to know that you’ve seen a range of different opinions when coming to your conclusions.

When you get to the end of your essay, check to see how many sources are listed in the end-text reference list. A good rule of thumb is 1 source listed in the reference list per 150 words. Here’s how that breaks down by essay size:

• 1500 word essay: 10 sources (or more) listed in the reference list
• 2000 word essay: 13 sources (or more) listed in the reference list
• 3000 word essay: 20 sources (or more) listed in the reference list
• 5000 word essay: 33 sources (or more) listed in the reference list

8. Instantly improve your Reference List with these Three Tips

Here’s two things you can do to instantly improve your reference list. It takes less than 20 seconds and gives your reference list a strong professional finish:

a) Ensure the font size and style are the same

You will usually find that your whole reference list ends up being in different font sizes and styles. This is because you tend to copy and paste the titles and names in the citations from other sources. If you submit the reference list with font sizes and styles that are not the same as the rest of the essay, the piece looks really unprofessional.

So, quickly highlight the whole reference list and change its font to the same font size and style as the rest of your essay. The screencast at the end of Step 8 walks you through this if you need a hand!

b) List your sources in alphabetical order.

Nearly every referencing style insists that references be listed in alphabetical order. It’s a simple thing to do before submitting and makes the piece look far more professional.

If you’re using Microsoft Word, simply highlight your whole reference list and click the A>Z button in the toolbar. If you can’t see it, you need to be under the ‘home’ tab (circled below):

You’ve probably never heard of a hanging indent. It’s a style where the second line of the reference list is indented further from the left-hand side of the page than the first line. It’s a strategy that’s usually used in reference lists provided in professional publications.

If you use the hanging indent, your reference list will look far more professional.

Here’s a quick video of me doing it for you:

9. Do one special edit especially for Referencing Style

The top students edit their essays three to five times spaced out over a week or more before submitting. One of those edits should be specifically for ensuring your reference list adheres to the referencing style that your teacher requires.

To do this, I recommend you get that cheat sheet printout that I mentioned in Step 1 and have it by your side while you read through the piece. Pay special attention to the use of commas, capital letters, brackets and page numbers for all citations. Also pay attention to the reference list: correct formatting of the reference list can be the difference between getting the top mark in the class and the fifth mark in the class. At the higher end of the marking range, things get competitive and formatting of the reference list counts.

A Quick Summary of the 9 Top Strategies…

Follow the rules of your referencing style guide (and that cheat sheet I recommended!) and use the top 9 tips above to improve your referencing and get top marks. Not only will your referencing look more professional, you’ll probably increase the quality of the content of your piece as well when you follow these tips!

Here’s a final summary of the 9 top tips:

Strategies for How to Reference in an Essay (9 Strategies of Top Students)

• Print out your Reference Style Cheat Sheet
• Only cite Experts
• Always use Google Scholar
• Cite at least 50% sources you found on your Own Research
• Cite Newer Sources
• Reference twice per Paragraph
• The sum total of your sources should be minimum 1 per 150 words
• Instantly improve your Reference List with these Three Tips
• Do one special edit especially for Referencing Style

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 19 Top Cognitive Psychology Theories (Explained)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 119 Bloom’s Taxonomy Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ All 6 Levels of Understanding (on Bloom’s Taxonomy)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Self-Actualization Examples (Maslow's Hierarchy)

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Spartanburg Community College Library
• SCC Research Guides
• Formatting Your Reference Page in Word

• Word 2013/2016
• Word Online

Formatting a References Page in Word 2013/2016

Use the following directions to format your References page in APA format. Also, check out our APA 7th ed. sample paper . 

• After completing your paper, click the "Insert" tab and choose "Blank Page" to add a new page to your document. Your header with your page number should appear in the top right corner when you insert the new page.

• Click on the "Home" tab, then click the "Justify Center" icon. This will center your title.

• Type in your title: References. Your title should be bolded in size 12 Times New Roman font.

• Hit "Enter" on your keyboard to start a new line. Then, hit the "Justify Left" icon to move the cursor back to the left. Make sure to unbold the text.

• Type in your full APA citation for your sources. Remember your References page should still be double-spaced!

• All References entries that are longer than a single line must include a Hanging Indent for second (and so forth) line(s).
• Choose the line you wish to indent. Move your cursor to the line you wish to indent.
• Hit CTRL T (or CMD T on a Mac) on your keyboard.

• Repeat (if necessary) for your third line.

Formatting a References Page in Word Online

Use the following directions to format your References page in APA format. Also, check out our APA 7th ed.  sample paper . 

• After completing your paper, add a new page to your document for your Works Cited. Hit "Enter" on your keyboard until you begin a new page.  Your header with your page number should also update automatically (although you will not be able to see them in the document).
• Click the "Home" tab, then click the "Justify Center" icon. This will center your title.

• Type in your title, References. Your title should be bolded and in size 12 Times New Roman font.

• Hit "Enter" on your keyboard to start a new line. Then, go to the "Home" tab and hit "Justify Left" to move the cursor back to the left. Make sure to unbold the text.

• Type in your full APA Citations for your sources. Remember, your References page should be double-spaced!

• All References page entries that are longer than a single line must include a Hanging Indent for second (and so forth) line(s). Move your cursor to the end of the first line.
• Using your mouse, move the cursor to the beginning of the second line of your citation.
• Hit "Tab" on your keyboard. This should indent only the second line of your citation.

• << Previous: Formatting Your Title Page and Paper in Word
• Next: APA Handouts >>
• Formatting the Author & Title
• Citing a Book or Ebook
• Citing Part of a Book or Ebook
• Citing an Encyclopedia
• Citing a Journal Article
• Citing an Article Written for a Database
• Citing a Magazine or Newspaper Article
• Citing Interviews, Emails, etc.
• Citing a Website Article or Page
• Citing a Video
• Citing Images in a Project
• In-text Citations
• Annotated Bibliography - APA
• Formatting Your Title Page and Paper in Word
• APA Handouts
• More APA Resources
• APA Workshop (Mar. 2022)

Questions? Ask a Librarian

• Last Updated: May 8, 2024 9:31 AM
• URL: https://libguides.sccsc.edu/APA

Giles Campus | 864.592.4764 | Toll Free 866.542.2779 | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Spartanburg Community College. All rights reserved.

Info for Library Staff | Guide Search

Return to SCC Website

Understanding How, When and Why to Reference

Learn how to acknowledge your sources of information

It is important that you acknowledge your sources of information in your academic writing. This allows you to clearly show how the ideas of others have influenced your own work. You should provide a citation (and matching reference) in your essay every time you use words, ideas or information from other sources.  If you would like to learn how, when and why to reference by watching a video, you can do so on Capstone Editing's YouTube channel .

Why reference?

Not referencing correctly can be perceived as plagiarism. It is expected and required at the university level that all your assignments will contain references. Otherwise, you are saying that the essay is made up entirely of your own original ideas, and that you have not engaged critically in any way with the literature. A passing grade requires that you use a minimum number of references (check your assignment marking criteria or ask your lecturer), and a good grade requires many more references than this. The purpose of referencing is to demonstrate the depth and breadth of your research, to show that you have read and engaged with the ideas of experts in your field. It also allows you to give credit to the writers from whom you have borrowed words or ideas. For your reader, referencing allows them to trace the sources of information you have used and to verify the validity of your work. For this reason, your referencing must be accurate and provide all necessary details to allow your reader to locate the source. It is therefore a good idea to keep careful records of all the sources you accessed when researching your assignment. This way, you do not have to hunt for these details after you have finished writing.  

How to incorporate the ideas of others into your essay

It can be difficult for new academic writers to know how to incorporate others’ work into their own writing. By learning how to use quotations effectively, and how to summarise and paraphrase the words and ideas of others, you can better avoid unintentional plagiarism. 

A quotation is a word-for-word reproduction of someone else’s words, either spoken or written. When quoting from another source, you must: 

• Exception: For long quotations (e.g. over 40 words in APA or over 30 words in Harvard), indent the quotation instead of using quotation marks. The quotation should be introduced by a colon and followed by a citation. 
• Use quotation marks even if only borrowing a single phrase or word from another source. 
• Exception: If the source does not have numbered pages (e.g. a website, an interview), no page number is needed. However, if there is some other way of pointing to the specific location from which the quotation was taken (e.g. paragraph number, clause number, line in transcript), include that in the citation. 

Quotations should be logically integrated into your text. One way to do this is to lead into the quotation or paraphrase by using the author’s name (e.g. ‘According to Lines,’) followed by the quotation from Lines or a summary of Lines’s ideas. 

Quotations must fit grammatically into your text. It is allowable to modify quotations slightly to ensure a good fit. However, it is essential that these changes are clearly marked using square brackets ([ ]). It is also possible to omit words from a quotation, shown using an ellipsis (…). Note that if you omit words, you must be sure that the original meaning of the quotation is retained. You should never omit words to change the meaning of a quotation. 

The below examples show ways to integrate the original quotation ‘Most of the time, they don’t, and I mean really don’t, behave well’, showing changes to 1) the verb and 2) a pronoun. Notice the use of the square brackets to show your modifications to the quotation, and the ellipsis to show omitted words. 

• The teacher reported that the children were not ‘behav[ing] well’.
• According to the teacher, ‘Most of the time, [the children] don’t … behave well’. 

Finally, you should avoid using quotations that have not been adequately introduced. If a quotation is inserted without appropriate integration into your text, this can negatively affect the logical and grammatical flow of your work, and lower the quality of your writing. Not introducing quotations or incorporating them into your own sentences usually also means you are relying too heavily on the words of others, and your grades can suffer as a result.

Summarising and paraphrasing

Another option for integrating others’ ideas into your own assignments is by summarising and paraphrasing. Summarising means giving an overview of the main ideas in condensed form. Paraphrasing means putting an idea (usually in detail) into your own words.  

To summarise or paraphrase well, you need to read carefully and understand the ideas in the source. Then, you can think about what those ideas mean in the context of your assignment and write them in your own words, integrating them well into your own writing. If you take sentences completely from the original source and just change a few words, this is not paraphrasing, and may be considered plagiarism. 

For some students, the temptation to use a source’s original wording is high. To avoid this, after reading and understanding the author’s ideas, write just the keywords on a separate piece of paper. See if you can change some of the keywords to other words, while keeping the original meaning. Then, think about whether you can reorganise the order of the keywords, to write sentences that keep the original meaning, but that are quite different to the original. Using your keywords, and without referring to the original source, write your new sentences. It takes a while at first, but the process becomes automatic with practice. 

The importance of writing in your own words

Putting others’ work into your own words will not only ensure the material is effectively integrated into your writing, it also demonstrates to your reader (e.g. your lecturer) that you have understood, absorbed and interpreted the information. This is a key purpose of essay writing at university and will help you to get a better grade. In addition, the better you get at putting complex ideas into your own words, the more developed your writing style will become. 

Acknowledge every source

Remember that the need to reference is not limited to academic sources like books and journal articles. You need to reference ALL words, ideas or information taken from ANY source. 

These sources might include: 

• books and journal articles
• newspapers and magazines
• pamphlets or brochures
• films, documentaries, television programs or advertisements
• computer programs
• diagrams, illustrations, charts or pictures
• letters or emails
• personal interviews
• lecturers or tutors. (This is not always necessary, but check with your lecturer or tutor about his or her preferences before you draw on his or her ideas.)

Note that if the source you are citing is retrievable (i.e. can be located by another person using the information you provide in the reference list), you must provide a reference for the source. However, if the source is only available to you (e.g. a personal interview or email, or a private Facebook post), you should cite all necessary details in the text, but should not provide a reference in the reference list. ONLY irretrievable sources are not included in the reference list, and even these are still cited in the text. 

The only times you would not reference are:

• when referring to your own observations (e.g. a report on a field trip) or experiment results
• when writing about your own experiences (e.g. a reflective journal)
• when writing your own thoughts, comments or conclusions in an assignment
• when evaluating or offering your own analysis (e.g. parts of a critical review)
• when using ‘common knowledge’ (facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of people) or folklore
• when using generally accepted facts or information (this will vary in different disciplines of study. If in doubt, ask your tutor).

If you are concerned that you may not have referenced correctly, you should ask your tutor, lecturer or Academic Learning Advisor for their advice before submitting your assignment. Capstone Editing can also edit your work to correct your referencing and provide advice about how to reference correctly in the future.   

Other guides you may be interested in

Essay writing: everything you need to know and nothing you don&rsquo;t&mdash;part 1: how to begin.

This guide will explain everything you need to know about how to organise, research and write an argumentative essay.

Essay Writing Part 2: How to Organise Your Research

Organising your research effectively is a crucial and often overlooked step to successful essay writing.

Located in northeastern New South Wales 200 kilometres south of Brisbane, Lismore offers students a good study–play balance, in a gorgeous sub-tropical climate.

Rockhampton

The administrative hub for Central Queensland, Rockhampton is a popular tourist attraction due to its many national parks and proximity to Great Keppel Island.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Build a Corporate Culture That Works

There’s a widespread understanding that managing corporate culture is key to business success. Yet few companies articulate their culture in such a way that the words become an organizational reality that molds employee behavior as intended.

All too often a culture is described as a set of anodyne norms, principles, or values, which do not offer decision-makers guidance on how to make difficult choices when faced with conflicting but equally defensible courses of action.

The trick to making a desired culture come alive is to debate and articulate it using dilemmas. If you identify the tough dilemmas your employees routinely face and clearly state how they should be resolved—“In this company, when we come across this dilemma, we turn left”—then your desired culture will take root and influence the behavior of the team.

To develop a culture that works, follow six rules: Ground your culture in the dilemmas you are likely to confront, dilemma-test your values, communicate your values in colorful terms, hire people who fit, let culture drive strategy, and know when to pull back from a value statement.

Start by thinking about the dilemmas your people will face.

Idea in Brief

The problem.

There’s a widespread understanding that managing corporate culture is key to business success. Yet few companies articulate their corporate culture in such a way that the words become an organizational reality that molds employee behavior as intended.

What Usually Happens

How to fix it.

Follow six rules: Ground your culture in the dilemmas you are likely to confront, dilemma-test your values, communicate your values in colorful terms, hire people who fit, let culture drive strategy, and know when to pull back from a value.

At the beginning of my career, I worked for the health-care-software specialist HBOC. One day, a woman from human resources came into the cafeteria with a roll of tape and began sticking posters on the walls. They proclaimed in royal blue the company’s values: “Transparency, Respect, Integrity, Honesty.” The next day we received wallet-sized plastic cards with the same words and were asked to memorize them so that we could incorporate them into our actions. The following year, when management was indicted on 17 counts of conspiracy and fraud, we learned what the company’s values really were.

• EM Erin Meyer is a professor at INSEAD, where she directs the executive education program Leading Across Borders and Cultures. She is the author of The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business (PublicAffairs, 2014) and coauthor (with Reed Hastings) of No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention (Penguin, 2020). ErinMeyerINSEAD

Partner Center

The Experience

• Career Impact
• Inclusion and Belonging
• Global Opportunities

More about Kellogg

• History & Legacy
• Convocation Ceremony

Degree Programs

• Full-Time MBA
• Executive MBA
• Master in Management
• Evening & Weekend MBA
• Certificate Program for Undergraduates
• Which Program is Right for Me?
• Admissions Events
• Academic Calendars

Executive Education

• Online Programs
• Programs for Individuals
• Nonprofit Programs
• Programs for Groups
• The Kellogg Advantage
• Contact Executive Education
• Request a Brochure
• Find a Program
• Alumni Network
• Career Journeys
• Global Impact
• Student Stories
• Applying to Kellogg

Publications and blogs

• Kellogg Magazine
• Kellogg Insight
• See All News + Stories

Academics + Research

• Faculty Directory
• Research Centers
• Case Studies
• Faculty Teaching Awards
• Academic Departments
• Research + Books
• Faculty Recruiting

Academic expertise

• Data Analytics
• Family Business
• Leadership & Organizations
• Social Impact
• Entrepreneurship
• Evening + Weekend MBA
• Deferred Enrollment
• PhD / Doctoral
• Undergraduate Certificate

Additional resources

• Tuition + Financial Aid
• Log into my account portal
• Companies + Recruiters

Full-Time MBA admissions

Designed to let you shine

The Full-Time MBA application is more than the sum of its parts, just like you. We know how difficult it can be to make your career accomplishments and life goals fit into a single text box. We also know you’re more than a test score, a GPA or a job title. Our application is intended as an opportunity for you to show us what makes Kellogg the right place for you to succeed during your MBA and beyond.

Application Portal

Don’t wait to apply

Application dates and deadlines

What are we looking for in an MBA candidate?

Dynamic leaders, ready to make an impact

international

Connect with us

We have a wide range of events happening all year long. Join us in-person or virtually for Preview Days, campus visits, tours and info sessions to get a sense for what Kellogg is all about.

Ready to join us? Take the next step. 

site categories

Julie taymor & niece danya taymor direct nearly 10% of broadway’s total box office; ‘the lion king’ and ‘the outsiders’ gross a combined $3.2m, breaking news.

‘Inside Out 2’ Scores $30M Juneteenth Box Office Record – Update

By Anthony D'Alessandro

Anthony D'Alessandro

Editorial Director/Box Office Editor

More Stories By Anthony

• Lionsgate & DirecTV Ink New Licensing Agreement; Five Of Studio’s FAST Channels Added
• ‘American Sniper’ Scribe Jason Hall Inks Overall Writing Deal With Amazon MGM Studios
• Atomic Monster & Blumhouse Expand ‘M3GAN’ Universe With ‘SOULM8TE’, Set New Year’s 2026 Release

THURSDAY AM UPDATE: Disney has made it official: Their Pixar sequel Inside Out 2 had a very happy day with a Juneteenth box office record of $30M , up 3% over Tuesday, which is fantastic.

Other records that Disney can be jubilant about: That’s the third grossing non-opening Wednesday of all-time behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($38M) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($32.2M). It’s the 12th highest grossing Wednesday overall, and the highest grossing non-opening animated Wednesday in domestic history.

The Federal Holiday delivered a daily boost at the box office with most pics in the top ten seeing a jump of 5% to 22% over Tuesday’s takes.

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Sources tell us that Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 is heading for a near $30 million Wednesday at the domestic box office — as big, if not bigger, than its $29.1M Tuesday , which was a record for an animated movie. Disney had no comment.

As we always report, take the projection with a grain of salt, for even if the sequel lands in the $20M-plus range, it’s still fantastic for business.

Related Stories

‘Inside Out 2’: All The Box Office Records Pixar Sequel Has Broken

‘Inside Out 2’ Clears $22M+ Monday, Pixar’s Second Best Ever; Sequel Will See Near $70M Second Weekend – Box Office

A near $30M take for Inside Out 2 would easily make it a Juneteenth holiday box office record, ahead of 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion ‘s $21M (that year the holiday fell on a Sundayr). If the forecast is true, the running domestic on the Amy Poehler-Maya Hawke-Tony Hale-Lewis Black-Phyllis Smith-Ayo Edebiri animated ensemble will stand at $235M.

Among all animated movies for a Wednesday, Inside Out 2 looks to rank third behind Illumination/Universal’s Despicable Me 2 ‘s opening day of $35M (July 3, 2013) and 2023’s opening day for Super Mario Bros Movie at $31.7M. Among Wednesdays, Inside Out 2 is definitely a record for Pixar ahead of Incredibles 2 ‘s $19.7M.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.

Must Read Stories

Kevin costner not returning for final episodes; premiere date set.

Apple Lands Jennifer Lawrence Murder Mystery ‘The Wives’; A24 Co-Producing

Alec baldwin fails again to get case tossed; armorer won’t have to testify at his trial, pixar sequel nears $500m worldwide as brazil bow breaks toon record.

Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.

Read More About:

17 comments.

Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

• How to Login
• Use Teams on the web
• Join a meeting in Teams
• Join without a Teams account
• Join on a second device
• Join as a view-only attendee
• Join a breakout room
• Join from Google
• Schedule a meeting in Teams
• Schedule from Outlook
• Schedule from Google
• Schedule with registration
• Instant meeting
• Add a dial-in number
• See all your meetings
• Invite people
• Meeting roles
• Add co-organizers
• Hide attendee names
• Tips for large Teams meeting
• Lock a meeting
• End a meeting
• Manage your calendar
• Meeting controls
• Prepare in a green room
• Share content
• Share slides
• Share sound
• Apply video filters
• Mute and unmute
• Spotlight a video
• Multitasking
• Raise your hand
• Live reactions
• Take meeting notes
• Customize your view
• Laser pointer
• Cast from a desktop
• Use a green screen
• Join as an avatar
• Customize your avatar
• Use emotes, gestures, and more
• Get started with immersive spaces
• Use in-meeting controls
• Spatial audio
• Overview of Microsoft Teams Premium
• Intelligent productivity
• Advanced meeting protection
• Engaging event experiences
• Change your background
• Meeting themes
• Audio settings
• Manage attendee audio and video
• Reduce background noise
• Voice isolation in Teams
• Mute notifications
• Use breakout rooms
• Live transcription
• Language interpretation
• Live captions
• End-to-end encryption
• Presenter modes
• Call and meeting quality
• Meeting attendance reports
• Using the lobby
• Meeting options
• Record a meeting
• Meeting recap
• Play and share a meeting recording
• Delete a recording
• Edit or delete a transcript
• Customize access to recordings or transcripts
• Switch to town halls
• Get started
• Schedule a live event
• Invite attendees
• organizer checklist
• For tier 1 events
• Produce a live event
• Produce a live event with Teams Encoder
• Best practices
• Moderate a Q&A
• Allow anonymous presenters
• Attendee engagement report
• Recording and reports
• Attend a live event in Teams
• Participate in a Q&A
• Use live captions
• Schedule a webinar
• Customize a webinar
• Publicize a webinar
• Manage webinar registration
• Manage what attendees see
• Change webinar details
• Manage webinar emails
• Cancel a webinar
• Manage webinar recordings
• Webinar attendance report
• Get started with town hall
• Attend a town hall
• Schedule a town hall
• Customize a town hall
• Host a town hall
• Use RTMP-In
• Town hall insights
• Manage town hall recordings
• Cancel a town hall
• Can't join a meeting
• Camera isn't working
• Microphone isn't working
• My speaker isn’t working
• Breakout rooms issues
• Immersive spaces issues
• Meetings keep dropping

Schedule a meeting in Microsoft Teams

When you schedule a meeting in Outlook, it'll show up in Teams, and vice versa. Every meeting scheduled in Teams is automatically made into an online meeting.

Scheduling from Outlook? Learn how to add Teams to your Outlook meeting .

Note:  Up to 1,000 invitees can join a Teams meeting and interact by using chat, audio, and video. Invitees can also join a meeting that already has 1,000 participants (up to 10,000) as view-only attendees .

Schedule a meeting

There are several ways to schedule a meeting in Teams:

The scheduling form is where you'll give your meeting a title, invite people, and add meeting details. Use the Scheduling Assistant to find a time that works for everyone.

In Scheduling Assistant , you can see attendees' time zones, schedules, and availability during different timeslots. The Scheduling Assistant grid will show each attendee's schedule. Shaded areas show when attendees are busy or have tentative meetings. Unshaded areas show when attendees are free. 

Once you're done filling out the details, select Save  to close the scheduling form and invite attendees to the meeting.

Add a dial-in number  

Include a dial-in number and conference ID so that participants can call in to the Teams meeting. If you schedule the meeting from Outlook, the dial-in number and conference ID automatically appear in the scheduled meeting invite. For how to add these details when scheduling in Teams, see  Add a dial-in number for a meeting in Teams.

Assign categories to a meeting

Color code your calendar with categories. Just like in Outlook, you can assign one or more categories to each meeting in your calendar. There are a couple ways to assign categories:

Right-click an event in your calendar.

Select a color.

You can also categorize a meeting when you schedule it by selecting Category at the top of the scheduling form.

Note:  Channel meetings can't be categorized.

Invite people outside your organization 

Teams lets you invite people outside your organization, including those who don't have a Teams license. You'll need their full email address to invite them.

Create a meeting or open an existing one in your Teams Calendar.

Type the person's full email address (ex: [email protected]).

Select Send  or Send update . They'll receive an email with a link to the meeting.

Invite people with a link 

Teams lets you invite people to a meeting via a meeting link. To share this link:

The meeting link will appear as a URL. Select Copy  to copy the URL.

Add a co-organizer

After you've invited people to your meeting, you can add up to 10 co-organizers to help manage your meeting. Before adding co-organizers, make sure the people you want to add are already added as required attendees and then follow the steps below:

Make sure the people you want to add as co-organizers are invited to the meeting.

Select Save .

Note:  To learn more, see Add co-organizers to a meeting .

Make it a channel meeting

Type the name of a channel in the  Add channel field.

Channels can't be edited or added once the invite is sent. You'll need to send a new invite with the updated channel.

Note:  When you have a meeting in a channel, everyone in the team will be able to see it and join it in that channel. This feature isn't available in private channels.

Once you've added the people you want, select Scheduling Assistant to find the best time.

If it's a recurring meeting, open the dropdown menu next to Does not repeat (just below the date). Choose how often you want it to occur from the default options or select Custom to create your own cadence.

Schedule meetings in a channel calendar 

If you're unfamiliar with how to add a calendar to a channel, the steps are outlined for you at See all your meetings in Teams . Once that's done, you have a few ways to add events to the shared calendar.

Add other attendees who are outside the team you scheduled the meeting in.

Select Send .

When you select Send , everyone in the team you scheduled the meeting for will receive a personal invite.

If you added guests and partners from outside your org, they won't have access to the channel calendar.

Right-click for more options

Right-click an event in your calendar to:

Show as to set the status that will reflect on participants calendars during the meeting time if they RSVP to accept the meeting.

Join a meeting  

Teams meetings will show a join button on an event in your calendar five minutes before the start of a meeting. Once someone joins the meeting, the event will change colors to let you know they're online.

Select Join to open the meeting settings window to confirm your preferred camera and mic settings before joining the online meeting.

Note:  If you have overlapping meetings in your calendar, the join button won't be available. But you can still right-click the event and select Join online .

Reschedule a meeting

In your Teams calendar, you can reschedule meetings and events you organized. To quickly update a meeting time, select in in your Teams calendar, drag it into a new timeslot, and drop it.

You'll be notified of invitees' availability before you update the meeting time.

You can also change the meeting time by opening the meeting details, choosing a new time, and selecting Send update . Attendees will automatically receive a notification with the updated time. 

Set your Show As status in a Teams meeting

As an organizer, you can set the Show As status of the meeting in the action bar. When participants RSVP, their status will automatically reflect the status the organizer set. 

As a participant, you can choose to set your individual status for the meeting through Show As independent of the status set by the organizer. The updated status will reflect on your calendar. The default Show As value for all the meetings an organizer schedules is Busy .

You can set your Show As status in several ways:

On the Scheduling Form Details page

On your Peek of the meeting (Microsoft Surface)

On the Details view of the meeting (as a participant)

To schedule a meeting:

Open the Teams mobile app.

Enter other meeting details.

Tap Done  to schedule the meeting and invite participants.

Note:  When you have a meeting in a channel, people will be able to see and join it in that channel.

Meeting details

To view and edit meeting details:

Tap a meeting to view details.

Tap Edit to edit the meeting details if you're an organizer.

If you updated the meeting details, tap Done to send updates.

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Working with sources
• How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago

Published on April 15, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Jack Caulfield. Revised on May 31, 2023.

Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:

• The quoted text is enclosed in quotation marks or formatted as a block quote
• The original author is correctly cited
• The text is identical to the original

The exact format of a quote depends on its length and on which citation style you are using. Quoting and citing correctly is essential to avoid plagiarism which is easy to detect with a good plagiarism checker .

Table of contents

How to cite a quote in apa, mla and chicago, introducing quotes, quotes within quotes, shortening or altering a quote, block quotes, when should i use quotes, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about quoting sources.

Every time you quote, you must cite the source correctly . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style you’re using. Three of the most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Citing a quote in APA Style

To cite a direct quote in APA , you must include the author’s last name, the year, and a page number, all separated by commas . If the quote appears on a single page, use “p.”; if it spans a page range, use “pp.”

An APA in-text citation can be parenthetical or narrative. In a parenthetical citation , you place all the information in parentheses after the quote. In a narrative citation , you name the author in your sentence (followed by the year), and place the page number after the quote.

Punctuation marks such as periods and commas are placed after the citation, not within the quotation marks .

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin, 1859, p. 510) .
• Darwin (1859) explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (p. 510) .

Complete guide to APA

Citing a quote in mla style.

An MLA in-text citation includes only the author’s last name and a page number. As in APA, it can be parenthetical or narrative, and a period (or other punctuation mark) appears after the citation.

• Evolution is a gradual process that “can act only by very short and slow steps” (Darwin 510) .
• Darwin explains that evolution “can act only by very short and slow steps” (510) .

Complete guide to MLA

Citing a quote in chicago style.

Chicago style uses Chicago footnotes to cite sources. A note, indicated by a superscript number placed directly after the quote, specifies the author, title, and page number—or sometimes fuller information .

Unlike with parenthetical citations, in this style, the period or other punctuation mark should appear within the quotation marks, followed by the footnote number.

Complete guide to Chicago style

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

Make sure you integrate quotes properly into your text by introducing them in your own words, showing the reader why you’re including the quote and providing any context necessary to understand it.  Don’t  present quotations as stand-alone sentences.

There are three main strategies you can use to introduce quotes in a grammatically correct way:

• Add an introductory sentence
• Use an introductory signal phrase
• Integrate the quote into your own sentence

The following examples use APA Style citations, but these strategies can be used in all styles.

Introductory sentence

Introduce the quote with a full sentence ending in a colon . Don’t use a colon if the text before the quote isn’t a full sentence.

If you name the author in your sentence, you may use present-tense verbs , such as “states,” “argues,” “explains,” “writes,” or “reports,” to describe the content of the quote.

• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• In Denmark, a recent poll shows that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that support for the EU has grown since the Brexit vote: “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Introductory signal phrase

You can also use a signal phrase that mentions the author or source, but doesn’t form a full sentence. In this case, you follow the phrase with a comma instead of a colon.

• According to a recent poll, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• As Levring (2018) explains, “A membership referendum held today would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” (p. 3).

Integrated into your own sentence

To quote a phrase that doesn’t form a full sentence, you can also integrate it as part of your sentence, without any extra punctuation .

• A recent poll suggests that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (Levring, 2018, p. 3).
• Levring (2018) reports that EU membership “would be backed by 55 percent of Danish voters” in a referendum (p. 3).

When you quote text that itself contains another quote, this is called a nested quotation or a quote within a quote. It may occur, for example, when quoting dialogue from a novel.

To distinguish this quote from the surrounding quote, you enclose it in single (instead of double) quotation marks (even if this involves changing the punctuation from the original text). Make sure to close both sets of quotation marks at the appropriate moments.

Note that if you only quote the nested quotation itself, and not the surrounding text, you can just use double quotation marks.

• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “ “ Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, ” he told me, “ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had ” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway introduces his narrative by quoting his father: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’” (Fitzgerald 1).
• Carraway begins by quoting his father’s invocation to “remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1).

Note:  When the quoted text in the source comes from another source, it’s best to just find that original source in order to quote it directly. If you can’t find the original source, you can instead cite it indirectly .

Often, incorporating a quote smoothly into your text requires you to make some changes to the original text. It’s fine to do this, as long as you clearly mark the changes you’ve made to the quote.

Shortening a quote

If some parts of a passage are redundant or irrelevant, you can shorten the quote by removing words, phrases, or sentences and replacing them with an ellipsis (…). Put a space before and after the ellipsis.

Be careful that removing the words doesn’t change the meaning. The ellipsis indicates that some text has been removed, but the shortened quote should still accurately represent the author’s point.

Altering a quote

You can add or replace words in a quote when necessary. This might be because the original text doesn’t fit grammatically with your sentence (e.g., it’s in a different verb tense), or because extra information is needed to clarify the quote’s meaning.

Use brackets to distinguish words that you have added from words that were present in the original text.

The Latin term “ sic ” is used to indicate a (factual or grammatical) mistake in a quotation. It shows the reader that the mistake is from the quoted material, not a typo of your own.

In some cases, it can be useful to italicize part of a quotation to add emphasis, showing the reader that this is the key part to pay attention to. Use the phrase “emphasis added” to show that the italics were not part of the original text.

You usually don’t need to use brackets to indicate minor changes to punctuation or capitalization made to ensure the quote fits the style of your text.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

If you quote more than a few lines from a source, you must format it as a block quote . Instead of using quotation marks, you set the quote on a new line and indent it so that it forms a separate block of text.

Block quotes are cited just like regular quotes, except that if the quote ends with a period, the citation appears after the period.

To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking-stick or any money, or anything that he usually took when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and running as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more. (16)

Avoid relying too heavily on quotes in academic writing . To integrate a source , it’s often best to paraphrase , which means putting the passage in your own words. This helps you integrate information smoothly and keeps your own voice dominant.

However, there are some situations in which quoting is more appropriate.

When focusing on language

If you want to comment on how the author uses language (for example, in literary analysis ), it’s necessary to quote so that the reader can see the exact passage you are referring to.

When giving evidence

To convince the reader of your argument, interpretation or position on a topic, it’s often helpful to include quotes that support your point. Quotes from primary sources (for example, interview transcripts or historical documents) are especially credible as evidence.

When presenting an author’s position or definition

When you’re referring to secondary sources such as scholarly books and journal articles, try to put others’ ideas in your own words when possible.

But if a passage does a great job at expressing, explaining, or defining something, and it would be very difficult to paraphrase without changing the meaning or losing the weakening the idea’s impact, it’s worth quoting directly.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Paraphrasing
• Critical thinking

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
• Common knowledge

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

In academic writing , there are three main situations where quoting is the best choice:

• To analyze the author’s language (e.g., in a literary analysis essay )
• To give evidence from primary sources
• To accurately present a precise definition or argument

Don’t overuse quotes; your own voice should be dominant. If you just want to provide information from a source, it’s usually better to paraphrase or summarize .

Every time you quote a source , you must include a correctly formatted in-text citation . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style .

For example, a direct quote in APA is cited like this: “This is a quote” (Streefkerk, 2020, p. 5).

Every in-text citation should also correspond to a full reference at the end of your paper.

A block quote is a long quote formatted as a separate “block” of text. Instead of using quotation marks , you place the quote on a new line, and indent the entire quote to mark it apart from your own words.

The rules for when to apply block quote formatting depend on the citation style:

• APA block quotes are 40 words or longer.
• MLA block quotes are more than 4 lines of prose or 3 lines of poetry.
• Chicago block quotes are longer than 100 words.

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarizes other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA and Chicago both recommend retaining the citations as part of the quote. However, MLA recommends omitting citations within a quote:

• APA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).
• MLA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted in all styles.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase “as cited in” in your citation.

In scientific subjects, the information itself is more important than how it was expressed, so quoting should generally be kept to a minimum. In the arts and humanities, however, well-chosen quotes are often essential to a good paper.

In social sciences, it varies. If your research is mainly quantitative , you won’t include many quotes, but if it’s more qualitative , you may need to quote from the data you collected .

As a general guideline, quotes should take up no more than 5–10% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. & Caulfield, J. (2023, May 31). How to Quote | Citing Quotes in APA, MLA & Chicago. Scribbr. Retrieved June 18, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-quote/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to block quote | length, format and examples, how to paraphrase | step-by-step guide & examples, how to avoid plagiarism | tips on citing sources, get unlimited documents corrected.

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts