Citing University Student Articles: A Quick Guide

Citing sources is an essential skill for university students to master, as it ensures academic integrity and gives credit to the original authors. Proper citation methods vary depending on the style guide being used, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard. The general principle, however, is to include the author's name, date of publication, title of the work, and publication details such as the journal name, volume, and page numbers. In-text citations are placed within the text and are usually signalled by parentheses or footnotes, while reference lists or bibliographies are provided at the end of the paper, listing all the sources in their full format. It is crucial to cite any ideas, data, or information that is not your original work, even if it is just a summary or a commonly known fact.

Citing a journal article

MLA Style

MLA citation guidelines recommend including URLs, but some institutions, such as Columbia College Library, recommend omitting them when citing a work found in a library database. This is because most URLs from library databases will stop working after the session ends. If your instructor requires a URL, look for the "Permalink" icon in the article description and place the URL generated after the name of the database.

For a print source, you need the following information: the name(s) of the author(s), the title of the article, the name of the journal in italics, the volume and issue numbers, the date of publication, and the page range. If there are three or more authors, use "et al." to shorten the list of names. A DOI is always included when available; a URL appears if no DOI is available but the article was accessed online. If you accessed the article in print and no DOI is available, you can omit this part.

APA Style

In APA style, the article title is in plain text and sentence case, while the journal name appears in italics and title case. The in-text citation lists up to two authors; for three or more, use "et al." If an article from a common academic research database does not have a DOI number, no DOI or URL is needed for the reference entry.

Chicago Style

In Chicago notes and bibliography style, you include a bibliography entry for each source and cite them in the text using footnotes. "Et al." is used for three or more authors in an in-text citation and for ten or more authors in a bibliography entry.

Citing a book

When citing a book in a university paper, the citation style you're using will determine the order and format of the information. The most common styles are APA, MLA, and Chicago.

APA Style

APA style is the most popular citation style and is widely used in the social and behavioral sciences. An APA book citation includes the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources without page numbers, use a paragraph number, for example: (Field, 2005, para. 1).

MLA Style

MLA style is the second most popular citation style and is mainly used in the humanities. An MLA book citation includes the author's last name and page number, separated by a comma, for example: (Field 14).

Chicago Style

Chicago style is also popular in the humanities, especially history. The Chicago notes and bibliography style uses footnotes to cite sources instead of parenthetical citations. These footnotes refer to a bibliography at the end, which includes the author's name, book title and subtitle, edition, location and name of the publisher, and year of publication. For an e-book, add the e-book format (e.g. "Kindle") at the end.

Example Book Citations

APA

• In-text citation: (Welch, 1999)
• Reference list entry: Welch, K. E. (1999). Electric rhetoric: Classical rhetoric, oralism, and a new literacy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

MLA

• In-text citation: (Welch 143)
• Works-cited list entry: Welch, Kathleen E. Electric Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric, Oralism and a New Literacy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999.

Chicago

• Footnote: 1. Kathleen E. Welch, Electric Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric, Oralism and a New Literacy (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999), 143.
• Bibliography entry: Welch, Kathleen E. Electric Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric, Oralism and a New Literacy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999.

Citing a web page

APA Style:

To cite a web page in APA format, you need the following information:

• Author: Last name and initials of the author. If there is no author, start with the title of the article.
• Date: The full date of publication. If there is no date, use "n.d." (no date). If the page seems likely to change over time, include an access date.
• Title: The title of the page in italics. Capitalize the first letter of each major word in the title.
• Website: The name of the website in plain text. If the author and website names are the same, skip the website name to avoid repetition.
• URL: The exact link to the content or page where the reader can easily find the cited material.

An example of an APA citation for a web page:

Last name, First name or Username. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Website name. URL

MLA Style:

To cite a web page in MLA format, include the following information:

• Author: Last name and first name of the author. If there is no author, start with the title of the web page.
• Title: The title of the page in quotation marks.
• Website: The name of the website in italics. If the title of the site is the same as the sponsor or publisher, omit this information.
• Date: The date of publication. If there is no date, include an access date.
• URL: The link to the web page.

An example of an MLA citation for a web page:

Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Web Page." Website Title, Publisher [if different from website title], Publication date, URL.

Chicago Style:

For Chicago-style citations, footnotes are used to cite sources, referring to a bibliography at the end that lists all the sources in full. A Chicago bibliography entry for a web page includes:

• Author: The name of the author. If there is no author, list the name of the organization that created the page.
• Title: The title of the page in quotation marks.
• Website: The name of the website.
• Date: The publication date. If there is no date, use "n.d."
• URL: The link to the web page.

An example of a Chicago-style citation for a web page:

Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Web Page." Website Title, Publication date, URL.

Remember, when citing a web page, always try to provide as much information as possible, including authorship, date, location, and availability.

In-text citation

When writing an academic paper, it is important to cite your sources correctly to avoid plagiarism and to give credit to the original authors. Here is a guide to in-text citation for university students:

Numerical Citations

Numerical citations are typically used in certain fields such as materials science, chemistry, and aerospace engineering. They are placed either at the end or beginning of a sentence and are numbered sequentially, corresponding to the order of the sources listed on your reference page. For example: "The line's slope used in this equation (7) to calculate..."

Parenthetical Citations

Parenthetical citations are generally used in writing formats such as MLA and APA. They include the author's name, publication year, and page or paragraph numbers within the parentheses. For example: (Rhys, 1997, p. 32) or (Henry, 2003, p. 33). If the author's name is mentioned in the sentence, only include the year and page number in the parentheses, e.g., "According to Henry (2003, p. 33)...".

When using parenthetical citations, the punctuation for the sentence should come after the closing parenthesis. For example: "This concept is further explored by Smith et al. (2021), who argue that..." or "Smith et al. (2021) argue that...". Note that in APA style, the word "and" should be spelled out when using multiple authors' names in the narrative.

When to cite

When writing an academic paper, it is essential to give credit to the original authors whose work you have used. This is done by citing their work in your paper. The general rule is: "when in doubt, cite". There is no such thing as "over-citing", so cite the original source as much as possible.

You must cite a source when you are using research, words, ideas, data, or information that is not your own. This includes any source that contributes, either directly or indirectly, to your knowledge and understanding of the material and the formulation of your arguments. For example, if you are using facts, statistics, dates, or unoriginal information, you should cite the source. It is particularly important to build your arguments from reliable sources.

Summaries also require a citation, as you are still borrowing original ideas from the author. Even if your entire paragraph is a summary, you should cite in each sentence rather than at the end of the paragraph.

If a particular text has contributed to your understanding of the material or the formulation of your arguments, you must cite the source even if you do not directly reference it in the text. This includes anyone that helped you clarify your arguments, such as key informants or other correspondents. This can be in your bibliography or in the form of an acknowledgements section.

There are many different referencing styles, and your university and tutors will confirm which style they want you to use. It can vary across faculties, so make sure you know which style is preferred for your chosen subjects. Some common styles include:

• Harvard style
• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• American Psychological Association (APA)
• Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA)
• Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• American Medical Association (AMA)
• Chicago/Turabian style
• Vancouver style

Frequently asked questions