citation in history research

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Gould library, history research guide.

• Definitions & Background
• Citing Old Newspaper Articles (Readex)
• Citing an old newspaper (Gale)
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• Visit Carleton Archives & Special Collections
• How to find a relevant archive
• Finding Rare Books
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• Partition (1947)
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• Carleton's History

Citations for Historians

• Carleton History Department Mechanics of Citation The Carleton History department guidelines are based on The Chicago Manual of Style, now in its 17th edition.

Chicago Quick Guide: Notes & Bibliography!

• Chicago Manual of Style: Annotated bibliography example Remember that your annotated bibliographies are not simply lists. They are creative, rhetorical devices that map out the scholarly conversation on a topic.
• How to Cite Your Sources by Research/IT Desk Last Updated Apr 9, 2024 18553 views this year

Video examples of Chicago Manual of Style

More Videos on Chicago

• Chicago Style - Books (Video)
• Chicago Style - Journals (Video)
• Chicago Style - Websites & Social Media (Video)

Chicago citation examples

• Notes & Bibliography
• Author-Date

(N) = footnote or endnote style ; (B) = Bibliography style

Your bibliography should be alphabetized by author last name. For works that do not have an author, alphabetize by item title (omitting articles like "a" or "the"). Your bibliography should also be formatted using Hanging Indents .

Newspaper Article/Newspapers

(N) "Shipping News,"  New York Herald , December 4, 1868, Readex America's Historical Newspapers.

(B) The New York Herald, 1868-1878.

(B) The Ohio State Journal (Columbus, Ohio) April 1-20, 1900.

• See:  14.191: Basic citation format for newspaper articles
• Newspapers are more commonly cited in notes or parenthetical references than in bibliographies.
• An example from the Carleton History Department on how to cite a newspaper in a bibliography (if needed)

(N) 1. “Balkan Romani,” Endangered Languages, Alliance for Linguistic Diversity, accessed September 2, 2022, https://web.archive.org/web/20220822122125/https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/5342.

• See  14.207: Citing web pages and websites for other options : Include a publication date or date of revision or modification if possible; else, access date
• See  14.10: Short forms for URLs for help with long, weird URLs
• You may also choose to cite to the Internet Archive instead of the live website

Images and Art

(N) 1. Michelangelo Buonarroti, The Slave , 1513-15, marble, 2.09 m., Paris, The Louvre.

(B) Buonarroti, Michelangelo. The Slave , 1513-15. Marble, 2.09 m. Paris, The Louvre.

• See:  14.235: Citing paintings, photographs, and sculpture
• See: Best practices for Creative Commons attribution

If citing images found in published works or online collections, cite them similarly to book chapters, articles, or web pages within website, with the artist in the author position and the image title in the chapter title, article title, or webpage title position.

Data Sets & DH Projects

(N) 1. Creator,  Title  (Place: Publisher, Year), link.

(B) Creator. Title.  Place: Publisher, Year. link.

(N) 1. The World Bank. Washington Development Indicators . (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 2012). http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators.

(B) The World Bank. World Development Indicators . Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 2012. http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators.

• See:  Example of how to cite different parts of a digital humanities project

Primary Sources in a Republished Source

When possible, always find and cite the original. If this is absolutely impossible, you may need to cite a primary source that is republished in a secondary source.

Follow whatever citation rules apply to your specific item type; for instance, because this example is a newspaper article, there's only a short bibliography entry. If this were a different item type, the bibliography entry might look different. 

(N) 1. [Complete citation for the older/original item; see Archival Citations  or above for help], quoted in [Complete citation for newer/secondary source; see above for help], page #, URL/doi.

(B) [Complete citation for the older/original item; see Archival Citations or above for help]. Quoted in [Complete citation for newer/secondary source; see above for help]. URL/doi. 

(N) 1. Itthi, "Love Problems of the Third Sex -- Solved by Go Pakhnam" [in Thai], Plaek , July 7, 1976, quoted in Peter A. Jackson, First Queer Voices from Thailand: Uncle Go’s Advice Columns for Gays, Lesbians and Kathoeys (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2016), 196-197,  https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1bj4sqf .

(B) Plaek . July 7, 1976. Quoted in Peter A. Jackson. First Queer Voices from Thailand: Uncle Go’s Advice Columns for Gays, Lesbians and Kathoeys. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2016. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1bj4sqf .

• See:  14.260: Citations taken from secondary sources
• See: Citing Primary Sources Published in Edited Collections  (Trent University)

If citing images or art that stand alone:

Buonarroti, Michelangelo. 1513-15. The Slav e. Marble, 2.09 m. Paris, The Louvre.

Creator. Year. Title . Place: Publisher. link

The World Bank. 2012. World Development Indicators . Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators.

Lastname, Firstname. Year.  Title . Performed by Firstname Lastname. Place: Studio. Format.

Wong, John. 1999. Cool People at the Libe. Directed by Cat Toff. Northfield: Gould Libe. DVD.

Archival material & FAQ

Elements to include ( rule ), footnotes: format ( rule ,  examples ), bibliography: format ( rule & examples ), frequently asked difficult questions.

• General Rules for Citing Archival Material (14.221: Manuscript Collections)
• See for more info: Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States Need more examples or helpful information? The Chicago Manual of Style also recommends looking at this "pamphlet" produced by the National Archives on citing archival material.
• Citing republished/bound primary sources (14.260: Citations taken from secondary sources) When possible, always find and cite the original. If this is absolutely impossible, you may need to cite a primary source that is republished in a secondary source.
• Include a URL, but don't do full "website" format (14.7: Uniform resource locators (URLs)) If it's a letter that was digitized and put online, cite it as a letter with a URL at the end; don't cite it like a website just because it's online. Don't include a URL for a finding aid; just for a digitized version of the item itself.
• How to spell an author's name (14.73: Form of author’s name)
• On anonymous works (14.79: No listed author (anonymous works))
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• Last Updated: May 1, 2024 11:25 AM
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History Portal

Citations & bibliographies, citations in history (footnotes & bibliographies).

The BC History department uses  Chicago Manual of Style (currently in the 17th edition) for formatting citations and bibliographies. While it's possible to format your notes and bibliography by hand, many use a citation manager like  Zotero . Note: instructors may give you very specific instructions about footnote and bibliography styles, so always check with your instructor first! 

This guide is designed to get you started with some of the basic types of documents you might need to cite in a History paper. Scholars cite to their sources for two main reasons:  

• To acknowledge the material they are drawing on; 
• To provide evidence, allowing readers to follow their research.

There are two Chicago citation formats: notes-bibliography and author-date. Most historians use notes-bibliography, so that's the format described on this page. When using the Chicago Manual of Style or any other citation guide, make sure you follow instructions for notes-bibliography.

Remember: You should acknowledge where you got your information whether you quote, paraphrase, or summarize. 

(This page was put together by Dr. Bee Lehman .)

What's on This Page

This page has a lot on it. You can use the following anchors (links down the page) to jump straight to a relevant box.

You might want to start your papers with these sample templates formatted with the appropriate fonts, margins, and spacing for both a paper and a bibliography.

• Instructional Handout with Citation Examples Abbreviated version of this Guide for printing.
• Bibliography Template using CMS17th A template for students to set up a bibliography following the Chicago Manual of Style , 17th edition.

Notes v. Bibliography

To use Chicago, you need to set up footnotes (at the bottom of the page) and a bibliography at the end.

Note : the author’s name is written first name first and there are commas separating the different parts of the citation. Insert these at the bottom of a page (not in the footer) in Times New Roman, 10pt font, single spaced.

A bibliographic citation (B) , in contrast, gives the reader an overview of what sources you used. It is designed to be scanned and parsed quickly:

Note : the author’s name is written last, first and there are periods separating the different components. These are included on a new page after your paper in Times New Roman, 12pt font, single spaced.  

Notes: Long & Short Form

The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition (full note) requires you use long form the first time you cite to a text and short form for any subsequent uses. 

Long form  includes the full note citation, with creator, titles, publication information, and specific page numbers (see specific formats for genres). 

Short form  includes creator's last name, short title, and specific page numbers. But - if you cite to a text a second time directly after the first, drop the short title ( CMS 14.30 ). 

• Full note citation.
• Short note (Last Name, Page#).
• Other citation.
• Short note (Last Name, Short Title, Page#).

Note:  Short titles either take the title before the colon (:) or the first main concepts ( CMS 14.33 ).

Note : If you are familiar with Ibid ., work to forget it exists. Chicago, 17th edition dropped it in favor of the shorter short form ( CMS 14.34 ).

To cite to a whole book, you need the book’s author/editor, title, city of publication, publisher, and date ( CMS 14.100 ).

N : Author/Editor,  Book Title  (City of Publication: Publisher, Date), page#. N : 3 Stuart Hall, ed., Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (London: SAGE, 1997), 35. N : 5  Hall, Representation , 35.

B : Author/Editor.  Book Title . City of Publication: Publisher, Date.  B : Hall, Stuart, ed. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices . London: SAGE, 1997.

Note:  For the footnote and the bibliography, the word "editor" is abbreviated as "ed." if they are the first name listed. Pay attention to the change to "edited by" in the book chapter placement.  

Book Chapters

Particularly with edited volumes, you should cite to specific chapters within a book. To do so, you need the chapter author, chapter title, book title, book editor (if existent), city of publication, publisher, date of publication, and chapter page range ( CMS 14.106 ).

N : Author, "Title of Chapter," in  Title of Book , ed. First Last (City of Publication: Publisher, Date), page#. N : 3 Stuart Hall, “The Spectacle of the ‘Other,’” in Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices , ed. Stuart Hall (London: SAGE, 1997), 223. N : 5 Hall, "Spectable of the 'Other,'" 223.

B : Last, First. "Title of Chapter." In  Title of Book , edited by Name, page range. City of Publication: Publisher, Date.  B : Hall, Stuart. “The Spectacle of the ‘Other.’” In Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices , edited by Stuart Hall, 223–85. London: SAGE, 1997.

Note:  When quotation marks appear within quotation marks, the interior set should be sing dashed (') instead of the double (") as you see here with "Other" becoming 'Other.'

Government Documents

For unpublished government documents, set them up like unpublished material, which usually requires giving the title and date of the item, series title (if applicable), name of the collection, and name of the depository ( CMS 14.292 ).

N:  Department Name, "Title of Report," Date, location in repository (often file number), Repository, clean URL. N : 4 Department of Justice, “Excised Report of the Department of Justice Task Force to Review the FBI Martin Luther King, Jr., Security and Assassination Investigations,” January 11, 1977, file 100-106670, section 103, Federal Bureau of Investigation, https://vault.fbi.gov/.

B:  Department Name. "Title of Report," Date. Location in repository. Repository. Clean URL. B : Department of Justice. “Excised Report of the Department of Justice Task Force to Review the FBI Martin Luther King, Jr., Security and Assassination Investigations,” January 11, 1977. File 100-106670, section 103. Federal Bureau of Investigation. https://vault.fbi.gov/.

Note: The title of an unpublished document is not italicized but put in quotation marks. 

For published government documents--including legal documents--Chicago officially recommends using the  Blue Book . To find an open access guide based on the  Blue Book , check out the I ndigo Book.

Journal Articles

For the Crenshaw’s journal article, the note (i.e., footnotes, N) and the bibliographic citations (B) following these patterns:

N : First Last, “Article Title,” Journal Title Vol#, no. Issue# (Date): page#. N : 1  Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, “Race, Reform, and Retrenchment: Transformation and Legitimation in Antidiscrimination Law,” Harvard Law Review 101, no. 7 (1988): 1331.

Notice that 1) most parts of the citation are separated by commas and 2) the page number here should correspond with the exact page(s) you drew your information from and not the entire article.

B : Last, First. “Article Title.” Journal Title Vol#, no. Issue# (Date): page range. B : Crenshaw, Kimberlé Williams. “Race, Reform, and Retrenchment: Transformation and Legitimation in Antidiscrimination Law.” Harvard Law Review 101, no. 7 (1988): 1331–1387.

Here, 1) most parts of the citation are separated by periods and 2) the page numbers at the end include the full range of the article.

Note : Using Chicago, tiles of a whole thing—like a vinyl record—are put in italics (e.g., Big Mama Thornton ). The title of parts of things—like a song on the record—are put in quotation marks (e.g., “Hound Dog”).

Magazine Articles

Magazines are treated like journal articles for titles but have the volume and issue numbers omitted in favor of a specific day of publication. Page numbers are not necessary but, if included, should be separated from the date by a comma ( CMS 14.188 ). 

N:  First Last, "Title of Article,"  Title of Magazine , Day of Publication, Repository, Clean URL.  N : “Opium & Politics,” Time Magazine , November 1, 1937, Time Magazine Archive.

B : Last, First. "Title of Article."  Title of Magazine,  Day of Publication. Repository. Clean URL. B:  “Opium & Politics.” Time Magazine , November 1, 1937. Time Magazine Archive.

Note : The title is not put in all caps for  TIME Magazine .

N : Cartographer,  Title of Map , type of document, size and/or scale, date of publication, Repository, clean URL.

N : Anthony Finley, Map of South America According to the Latest and Best Authorities , map, 53 x 41 cm, 1826, Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g5200.ct000171.

B:  Last, First.  Title of Map . Date of publication. Type of document, size and/or scale. Repository. Clean URL.

B : Finley, Anthony. Map of South America According to the Latest and Best Authorities . 1826. Map, 53 x 41 cm. Library of Congress. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g5200.ct000171.

Note : The date placement changes between the notes and the bibliographic citation. 

Newspaper Articles

Here, start with the author’s name (if known) and continue with “article title,” newspaper title and specific date ( CMS 14.191 ). If you are drawing on a database with long URLs, include the database name instead of the URL.

N : Author name, "Article Title,"  Newspaper Title , Date of Publication, Clean URL or Database Name.

N : 5 “At the Corner of Grim and Desperate: Boston Neighborhood Grapples with Opioid Crisis,” Boston Globe , August 13, 2019, ProQuest Historical U.S. Newspapers.

B:  Last, First. "Article Title."  Newspaper Title , Date of publication. Clean URL or Database Name.

B : “At the Corner of Grim and Desperate: Boston Neighborhood Grapples with Opioid Crisis.” Boston Globe , August 13, 2019. ProQuest Historical U.S. Newspapers.

Note : For this article, the paper did not print the author. If the information is unknown, leave it blank.

Photographs and Artworks

N :   7 Cort Cornelis, The Battle of Zama , 1600-1790, engraving, 43.7 x 58 cm, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2012645609/.

B : Cornelis, Cort. The Battle of Zama . 1600-1799. Engraving, 43.7 x 58 cm. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012645609/.

Note : After the creator's name, you can include a note of what kind of artist they are (e.g., sculptor, photographer, etc.). 

For website content, you should cite to the specific page you are on and nestle it within the large site. Provide either the last updated or accessed date and finally the legible URL. If there is a clear author, list them first ( CMS 14.207 ).

N : 6 “Opioid Basics,” Drug Overdose, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed March 19, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/opioids/.

B : Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “Opioid Basics.” Drug Overdose. Accessed March 19, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/opioids/.

Note:  The position of the organization changes between note and bibliographic citation. 

Source within a Source

Citations taken from secondary sources.

Chicago discourages this one, but if necessary you can pull quotations from secondary sources if the original is unavailable. To cite appropriately, one must cite to both the source for the quotation and the secondary work you're pulling from. The form to use follows:

N : [Full citation for quotation], quoted in [Citation for secondary work].

B : [Full citation for quotation]. Quoted in [Citation for secondary work].

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) uses this example:

N:  Louis Zukofsky, “Sincerity and Objectification,” Poetry 37 (February 1931): 269, quoted in Bonnie Costello, Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981), 78.

Note:  Using Zotero , you will have to edit this citation using the Classic View  or do it by hand. 

Citation Tracking

Bibliographies allow you to follow an author's sources backwards in time . By definition, anything cited in a book or article will have been published prior to that book or article.

Citation tracking allows you to move forward in time , following who has cited that book or article since its publication. You can deduce how influential a specific source has been and follow the scholarly conversation around a specific topic.

• Google Scholar This link opens in a new window Search for your citation, then click "Cited by."
• Web of Science This link opens in a new window Use "Cited Reference" searching to trace citation history. Despite its name, Web of Science includes several humanities journals.

Writing Help

• Tips for Writing Papers (BC History Department) A set of guidelines compiled by BC history professors to help you avoid the most common pitfalls of essay writing.
• Connors Family Learning Center Writing tutors at the CFLC (O'Neill Library, Level 2) can provide insight and constructive criticism at any stage of the writing process.

See the BC Zotero pages for comprehensive how-to's. 

The Chicago Manual

Citation Manager

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Library Research Guide for History

• Citing Sources & Organizing Research
• Newsletter February 2024
• Exploring Your Topic
• HOLLIS (and other) Catalogs
• Document Collections/Microfilm
• Outline of Primary Sources for History
• Finding Online Sources: Detailed Instructions
• Religious Periodicals
• Personal Writings/Speeches
• Oral History and Interviews
• News Sources
• Archives and Manuscripts
• Government Archives (U.S.)
• U.S. Government Documents
• Foreign Government & International Organization Documents
• French Legislative Debates/Documents
• State and City Documents
• Historical Statistics/Data
• GIS Mapping
• Public Opinion
• City Directories
• Policy Literature, Working Papers, Think Tank Reports (Grey Literature)
• Technical Reports (Grey Literature)
• Country Information
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• Missionary Records
• Reference Sources
• Harvard Museums
• Boston-Area Repositories

Citation Management Tools

Citation and writing guidance.

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• Exploring Special Collections at Harvard

Citation tools offer a better way to collect, store, and manage reference information, research notes, and documents. They work with your word processor to manage in-text citations and to build bibliographies in nearly any format. Find more information on the Citation Tools FAQ .

Need help with Zotero or other citation tools? Email Anna Assogba: [email protected] or Emily Bell [email protected] .

Chicago Style Guides

Chicago Manual of Style Online (17th ed.) Chicago Manual of Style Online (16th ed.) HOLLIS Record for print version 

Ohio State University Libraries’ Chicago Manual of Style form guide contains samples of scientific and humanities styles and electronic resource citation.

This Bowdoin College Library's Chicago-Style Citations guide helps cite Facebook, Twitter, e-mails and more.

General Citation Guidance

Evidence explained: citing history sources from artifacts to cyberspace , by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2007, 885 p. Available online via Internet Archive .

Harvard Guide to Using Sources is a guide produced by the Expository Writing Program.

University of Wisconsin Writing Center Writer’s Handbook offers links to examples of notes for articles, books, interviews, performances, secondary sources, unpublished material, with first, second and subsequent references. Also provides a link to information on bibliographies and sample entries.

The Columbia guide to online style   (online access via Internet Archive) by Janice R. Walker. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.

History Writing Guides

A Brief Guide to Writing the History Paper - produced by the Harvard College Writing Center

A Handbook for Senior Thesis Writers in History - produced by the Department of History, Harvard University

The Writing Center  can help Harvard undergraduates with any aspect of your writing. From structuring your paper to forming an argument, they can help you do it all.

The Modern Researcher   by Jacques Barzun is a handbook for academic writing and research with a focus on history. Online access via Internet Archive

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• Citing & Referencing

History: Citing & Referencing

• Middle East
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Other useful guides

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• Citing and referencing

Helpful Links

• Citing & Referencing Library Guide
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• History Essay Writing Guide
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• EndNote tips for Mac users

Citing and referencing in History

Demonstrating that you have read the major writers and acknowledging their ideas is a fundamental skill of academic work.

There are two common methods of referencing in history. These are:

In-text referencing: where the Author and Year of publication are identified in the essay and a list of References which have been cited are placed at the end of the essay. Examples of this style are Monash Harvard; APA; MHRA; Chicago and MLA.

Footnote referencing: where a number is allocated to each reference which is usually listed in full at the bottom of the page or section.  A bibliography is usually added at the end of the work which includes all the works read rather than just those cited. Examples of this style are MHRA; Chicago and MLA.

Traditionally the footnote style has been preferred in the humanities as it is less disruptive to the flow of writing.

In History it is recommended that students use the Essay writing guide for citing and referencing where examples of the 2 methods are described.  For more detailed information and plenty of referencing examples refer to the relevant tab of the  Citing and Referencing library guide .

EndNote: How to keep tabs on your references

Keeping track of what you have read for the different subjects, from a variety of sources can be time-consuming.

There are bibliographic software packages available which help with these tasks.

The University supports the EndNote software package which can be downloaded and used freely by students and staff at Monash.

The programme is a sophisticated system aimed at postgraduate and research needs, however undergraduate students are welcome to use it if they wish. The Library offers classes throughout the year on EndNote which can be booked online . I f you have a group of at least 5 students i t is also possible to request a class directly from the History librarian.

Online tutorials are available to help you get started.

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History: APA Style

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APA Citation Style

What is the apa citation style.

" APA Style® originated in 1929, when a group of psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers convened and sought to establish a simple set of procedures, or style rules, that would codify the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension." (APA Style | "What is APA Style®?")

Who uses the APA citation style?

"APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences." (Purdue OWL | "APA Style Introduction") APA is also commonly used in education and the sciences (some of which actually have their own specific citation styles). That means, unless your instructor says otherwise, that if you're writing a research paper for your Biology, Business, Chemistry, Criminal Justice, Education, History, Medical Laboratory Science, Psychology, or Sociology classes, then you should probably be citing your sources according to the APA citation style.

How do I use the APA citation style?

• The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name, and the institutional affiliation. Include the page header by inserting page numbers flush right at the top of the page and then typing the title flush left of the page numbers.
• Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page.
• Beneath the title, type the author's name: first name, middle initial(s), and last name.
• Beneath the author's name, type the institutional affiliation, which should indicate the location where the author(s) conducted the research.
• The introduction presents the problem that the paper addresses. It should start on the same page as the Literature Review.
• Start on a new page with the title References centered; do not underline or italicize. All citations in the paper should have a reference on this page.
• Introduction
• Appendices (Purdue OWL | "Types of APA Papers")

How do I cite a resource using the APA citation style?

• Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological samples . . .
• In 2003, Kessler's study of epidemiological samples found . . .
• Several studies (Miller, 1999; Shafranske & Mahoney, 1998) . . .

How do I properly format my References page?

According to APA citation style, you must have a References page at the end of your research paper. All entries on the References page must correspond to the resources that were cited in the main text of your paper. Entries are listed alphabetically by the author's last name (or the editor's or translator's name) or the title (ignoring initial articles), and the hanging indent style is used. For example:

Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11 , 7-10.

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The hedonic contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66 , 1034-1048.

(Purdue OWL | "Reference List: Author/Authors")

• APA Template

Feel free to use the following document as a template for properly formatting your paper in APA, but please double-check with your instructor to make sure that you're following his/her specific directions!

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Chicago Manual of Style

Documenting the sources you use in your senior essay is a key part of the research and writing process. Complete and accurate citations to the books, journal articles, primary sources, and other items you use will allow readers to verify your sources and explore them further if they'd like to learn more about the issues you've raised.

In the field of history, the standard citation style is the Chicago Style, and you will want to consult it to find the proper format for citing sources in your footnotes as well as at the end of your paper in your bibliography. Here are the main links for referring to the Chicago Manual of Style:

• Chicago Manual of Style Online (17th ed.)
• Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide

Also there is Kate L. Turabian's encapsulation of the Chicago Style :   A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers .

In addition, the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) offers a helpful overview of the Chicago Manual of Style.

Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)

The key chapter to consult in the CMOS is Chapter 14, Notes and Bibliography, where you will find guidance on citing sources both in your footnotes and in your bibliography. Many examples of citations are provided throughout the chapter, but keep in mind that sometimes you may be citing a source that doesn't exactly fit within the chapter's models. In these cases, the main thing is to maintain a clear and consistent style, and to reach out to a librarian or your faculty advisor if you have any questions.

The guidance you'll find in Ch. 14 will offer direction on such general matters as:

• Notes and bibliography--an overview (14.19)
• Shortened Citations (starting at 14.29)
• Electronic resource identifiers (14.6)
• Short forms for URLs  (14.10)
• Library and other bibliographic databases (14.11)
• Access dates (14.12)
• Basic citation format for newspaper articles (14.191)
• * Click here to go to our guidelines for citing archival materials based on the Chicago Manual of Style

Citation Management Tools

You may already have a software program or a system for keeping track of your sources, but, if not, you will want to think about what way of organizing your research will work best for you this coming year. The Yale University Library has licenses to certain citation management tools, and there are also free tools on the web for managing your citations. Probably the two most useful tools to consider are:

• This is a resource licensed by the Yale Library; you will need to use your Yale e-mail address to create an account.
• This is an excellent tool that's used by many historians. The same organization that created it also makes available a research photo management tool - Tropy .

For more information and an overview of several of the resources that are available, see our citation management guide .

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• University of Wisconsin–Madison
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• Research Guides
• Introduction to Historical Research

Introduction to Historical Research : Citations

• Archival sources
• Multimedia sources
• Newspapers and other periodicals
• Biographical Information
• Government documents

Citation Style Manuals

Citation Styles: Resources and Examples

• Chicago Documentation from The Writing Center @UW-Madison Chicago Style originated at the University of Chicago Press and supports two documentation styles: one for the arts and humanities and one for the social sciences
• Citing Sources A research guide created to teach and aide students in citing source.
• MLA Documentation from The Writing Center @ UW-Madison MLA style is the citation style of the Modern Language Association. It is widely used in the humanities, especially in writing on language and literature. ​
• Turabian Documentation from Writing Center @ UW-Madison Turabian is named for Kate Larimore Turabian who was the graduate school dissertation secretary at the University of Chicago and is based on the Chicago Manual of Style

Manage your References

Citation managers  help you collect references and files from online databases, share references with others, and format citations and bibliographies.  The following tools are supported by UW-Madison Libraries.

• EndNote EndNote is desktop citation management software. It may be more appropriate if you are writing for publication.
• EndNote Basic EndNote Basic is a Web-based citation manager free to UW-Madison staff and students that can be used as a standalone citation manager or in conjunction with EndNote Desktop.
• Mendeley Mendeley is a free, Web and desktop-based citation manager and academic networking tool. Free version comes with 1GB storage space and private group up to 3 members.
• Zotero Zotero is an open source citation manager and academic social networking tool. Two versions include a Firefox browser extension and Zotero standalone that works with other browsers.
• Compare Citation Managers
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History Basics

• Cite Sources
• Primary Sources
• Newspaper & Media Sources
• Databases & Website Sources
• General Starting Points

APA Resources

These resources will help you with citing and formatting in APA Style:

• APA Formatting and Style Guide (Purdue OWL)
• APA Style Blog
• Style and Grammar Guidelines

MLA Resources

These resources will help you with citing and formatting in MLA Style:

• MLA In-Text Citations
• MLA Style Works Cited: A Quick Guide
• Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style Guide

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The Princeton Guide to Historical Research

• Zachary Schrag

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The essential handbook for doing historical research in the twenty-first century

• Skills for Scholars

• Look Inside
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• Download Cover

The Princeton Guide to Historical Research provides students, scholars, and professionals with the skills they need to practice the historian’s craft in the digital age, while never losing sight of the fundamental values and techniques that have defined historical scholarship for centuries. Zachary Schrag begins by explaining how to ask good questions and then guides readers step-by-step through all phases of historical research, from narrowing a topic and locating sources to taking notes, crafting a narrative, and connecting one’s work to existing scholarship. He shows how researchers extract knowledge from the widest range of sources, such as government documents, newspapers, unpublished manuscripts, images, interviews, and datasets. He demonstrates how to use archives and libraries, read sources critically, present claims supported by evidence, tell compelling stories, and much more. Featuring a wealth of examples that illustrate the methods used by seasoned experts, The Princeton Guide to Historical Research reveals that, however varied the subject matter and sources, historians share basic tools in the quest to understand people and the choices they made.

• Offers practical step-by-step guidance on how to do historical research, taking readers from initial questions to final publication
• Connects new digital technologies to the traditional skills of the historian
• Draws on hundreds of examples from a broad range of historical topics and approaches
• Shares tips for researchers at every skill level

Skills for Scholars: The new tools of the trade

Awards and recognition.

• Winner of the James Harvey Robinson Prize, American Historical Association
• A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year

• Introduction: History Is for Everyone
• History Is the Study of People and the Choices They Made
• History Is a Means to Understand Today’s World
• History Combines Storytelling and Analysis
• History Is an Ongoing Debate
• Autobiography
• Everything Has a History
• Narrative Expansion
• From the Source
• Public History
• Research Agenda
• Factual Questions
• Interpretive Questions
• Opposing Forces
• Internal Contradictions
• Competing Priorities
• Determining Factors
• Hidden or Contested Meanings
• Before and After
• Dialectics Create Questions, Not Answers
• Copy Other Works
• History Big and Small
• Pick Your People
• Add and Subtract
• Narrative versus Thematic Schemes
• The Balky Time Machine
• Local and Regional
• Transnational and Global
• Comparative
• What Is New about Your Approach?
• Are You Working in a Specific Theoretical Tradition?
• What Have Others Written?
• Are Others Working on It?
• What Might Your Critics Say?
• Primary versus Secondary Sources
• Balancing Your Use of Secondary Sources
• Sets of Sources
• Sources as Records of the Powerful
• No Source Speaks for Itself
• Languages and Specialized Reading
• Choose Sources That You Love
• Workaday Documents
• Specialized Periodicals
• Criminal Investigations and Trials
• Official Reports
• Letters and Petitions
• Institutional Records
• Scholarship
• Motion Pictures and Recordings
• Buildings and Plans
• The Working Bibliography
• The Open Web
• Limits of the Open Web
• Bibliographic Databases
• Full-Text Databases
• Oral History
• What Is an Archive?
• Archives and Access
• Read the Finding Aid
• Follow the Rules
• Work with Archivists
• Types of Cameras
• How Much to Shoot?
• Managing Expectations
• Duck, Duck, Goose
• Credibility
• Avoid Catastrophe
• Complete Tasks—Ideally Just Once, and in the Right Order
• Maintain Momentum
• Kinds of Software
• Word Processors
• Means of Entry
• A Good Day’s Work
• Word Count Is Your Friend
• Managing Research Assistants
• Research Diary
• When to Stop
• Note-Taking as Mining
• Note-Taking as Assembly
• Identify the Source, So You Can Go Back and Consult if Needed
• Distinguish Others’ Words and Ideas from Your Own
• Allow Sorting and Retrieval of Related Pieces of Information
• Provide the Right Level of Detail
• Notebooks and Index Cards
• Word Processors for Note-Taking
• Plain Text and Markdown
• Reference Managers
• Note-Taking Apps
• Relational Databases
• Spreadsheets
• Glossaries and Alphabetical Lists
• Image Catalogs
• Other Specialized Formats
• The Working Draft
• Variants: The Ten- and Thirty-Page Papers
• Thesis Statement
• Historiography
• Sections as Independent Essays
• Topic Sentences
• Answering Questions
• Invisible Bullet Points
• The Perils of Policy Prescriptions
• A Model (T) Outline
• Flexibility
• Protagonists
• Antagonists
• Bit Players
• The Shape of the Story
• The Controlling Idea
• Alchemy: Turning Sources to Stories
• Turning Points
• Counterfactuals
• Point of View
• Symbolic Details
• Combinations
• Speculation
• Is Your Jargon Really Necessary?
• Defining Terms
• Word Choice as Analysis
• Period Vocabulary or Anachronism?
• Integrate Images into Your Story
• Put Numbers in Context
• Summarize Data in Tables and Graphs
• Why We Cite
• Citation Styles
• Active Verbs
• People as Subjects
• Signposting
• First Person
• Putting It Aside
• Reverse Outlining
• Auditing Your Word Budget
• Writing for the Ear
• Conferences
• Social Media
• Coauthorship
• Tough, Fair, and Encouraging
• Manuscript and Book Reviews
• Journal Articles
• Book chapters
• Websites and Social Media
• Museums and Historic Sites
• Press Appearances and Op-Eds
• Law and Policy
• Graphic History, Movies, and Broadway Musicals
• Acknowledgments

"This volume is a complete and sophisticated addition to any scholar’s library and a boon to the curious layperson. . . . [A] major achievement."— Choice Reviews

"This book is quite simply a gem. . . . Schrag’s accessible style and comprehensive treatment of the field make this book a valuable resource."—Alan Sears, Canadian Journal of History

"A tour de force that will help all of us be more capable historians. This wholly readable, delightful book is packed with good advice that will benefit seasoned scholars and novice researchers alike."—Nancy Weiss Malkiel, author of "Keep the Damned Women Out": The Struggle for Coeducation

"An essential and overdue contribution. Schrag's guide offers a lucid breakdown of what historians do and provides plenty of examples."—Jessica Mack, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University

"Extraordinarily useful. If there is another book that takes apart as many elements of the historian's craft the way that Schrag does and provides so many examples, I am not aware of it."—James Goodman, author of But Where Is the Lamb?

"This is an engaging guide to being a good historian and all that entails."—Diana Seave Greenwald, Assistant Curator of the Collection, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

"Impressive and engaging. Schrag gracefully incorporates the voices of dozens, if not hundreds, of fellow historians. This gives the book a welcome conversational feeling, as if the reader were overhearing a lively discussion among friendly historians."—Sarah Dry, author of Waters of the World: The Story of the Scientists Who Unraveled the Mysteries of Our Oceans, Atmosphere, and Ice Sheets and Made the Planet Whole

"This is a breathtaking book—wide-ranging, wonderfully written, and extremely useful. Every page brims with fascinating, well-chosen illustrations of creative research, writing, and reasoning that teach and inspire."—Amy C. Offner, author of Sorting Out the Mixed Economy

historyprofessor.org website, maintained by Zachary M. Schrag, Professor of History at George Mason University

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Be more productive in school

• Citation Styles

What citation style to use for history

There are plenty of citation styles you can use for research papers but do you actually know which ones are used specifically in the history field? In order to ease your way into your paper, we compiled a list of the main citation styles used for history. Each style includes an explanation of its system, just like reference examples.

The Modern Language Association style is known for being the most frequently used in the humanities, which includes history. It uses an author-page citation system, which consists of in-text citations formed by the author's last name and the page number of the source. These point to a reference list at the end of the paper.

Check out these MLA style resources

🌐 Official MLA style guidelines

🗂 MLA style guide

📝 MLA citation generator

MLA style examples

An in-text citation in MLA style:

However, research introduced a new perspective on history (Walke 224) .

A bibliography entry in MLA style:

Walke, Anika. “‘To Speak for Those Who Cannot’: Masha Rol’nikaite on the Holocaust and Sexual Violence in German-Occupied Soviet Territories.” Jewish History , vol. 33, no. 1–2, 2020, pp. 215–244.

Chicago style is another form of citation used for history papers and journals. Its system offers two types of format: a notes and bibliography system, and an author-date system. The notes and bibliography system is mostly used for the humanities, whereas the author-date system is used in science and business. The latter is composed by in-text citations formed by the author's last name and date of publication that point to a reference list at the end of the paper.

Check out these Chicago style resources

🌐 Official Chicago style guidelines

🗂 Chicago style guide

📝 Chicago citation generator

Chicago style examples

An in-text citation in Chicago author-date style:

Clearly, an opposing view dominated the topic (Tuncay 2018) .

A bibliography entry in Chicago author-date style:

Lima Navarro, Pedro de, and Cristina de Amorim Machado. 2020. “An Origin of Citations: Darwin’s Collaborators and Their Contributions to the Origin of Species.” Journal of the History of Biology 53 (1): 45–79.

The Modern Humanities Research Association style is a frequently used citation format for history papers. Its system has two format options, author-date or footnotes . The author-date system consists of in-text citations with the author's last name and date of publication, whereas footnotes give an in-text superscript number and a source reference at the end of the page. Both of these formats require a reference list at the end of the paper.

Check out these MHRA style resources

🌐 Official MHRA style guidelines

🗂 MHRA style guide

📝 MHRA citation generator

MHRA style examples

An in-text citation in MHRA author-date style:

The image of women in leading positions has evolved throughout time (Loomis 2010) .

A bibliography entry in MHRA style:

Loomis, Catherine. 2010. The Death of Elizabeth I: Remembering and Reconstructing the Virgin Queen (Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan) https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230112131

The Historical Journal citation style is one of the most popular journals about history. Its system differs from other citation styles, as it requires a full bibliographical reference at the first in-text citation, and then an author-short-title in subsequent citations. It also allows the use of footnotes ; for a detailed description of its system take a look at the official HIS guidelines linked below.

Check out these HIS style resources

🌐 Official HIS style guidelines

HIS style examples

The first in-text bibliographical citation in HIS style:

As seen in journey of president Roosevelt, J. Lee Thompson, Theodore Roosevelt Abroad: Nature, Empire, and the Journey of an American President (2010) pp. 130-170 .

Second and subsequent in-text references in HIS style:

For instance, president Roosevelt, Thompson, Theodore Roosevelt , pp. 132 , showed to be an exemplary contemporary figure.

#5 History and Theory

History and Theory is an international journal devoted to the theory and philosophy of history. Its citation system consists of footnotes and in-text superscript numbers . For more details about its citation system refer to the journal's official guidelines linked below.

Check out these History and Theory style resources

🌐 Official History and Theory style guidelines

History and Theory style examples

An in-text citation in History and Theory style:

In colonial times, human skulls were a sign of conquer ¹ .

A footnote in History and Theory style:

¹ Ricardo Roque, Headhunting and Colonialism: Anthropology and the Circulation of Human Skulls in the Portuguese Empire , 1870–1930 (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).

Frequently Asked Questions about citation styles used for history

The top 2 citation styles used for history papers are MLA and Chicago styles.

The easiest way to create a reference list for history papers is by using the BibGuru citation generator . This generator creates the fastest and most accurate citations possible, which will save you time and worries. The best part is, it is completely free!

History papers may use citation styles with author-date systems, such as MHRA or Chicago. Alternatively, you can also use numeric citation styles which insert superscript numbers to indicate a source, like MHRA or History and Theory.

Some of the most prominent history journals are: The American Historical Review , The Journal of Economic History , and History and Theory , among others.

You can add footnotes to history papers as long as you use one of the following citations styles that allow the use of footnotes: History and Theory, The Historical Journal (HIS), and MHRA.

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• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) Description: A well-known and excellent citation guide from Purdue University showing you how to cite various types of sources (both print & online).  There are examples of how to do in-text citations, works cited and a sample paper. Directions: Scroll down the page and click on the citation style you want.  Then use the left-hand navigation menu to select the type of resource you want to cite.
• Citing Information Description: A useful guide by the UNC Libraries showing you how to cite sources. Citation examples include both print & online sources and in-text citations as well as works cited. Directions: After selecting a citation style, use the left hand navigation menu to search for the type of resource you want to cite.

Do you want to see the actual paper style manual for your area of study?  The Circulation Desk at the JFK Library has all the latest citation style manuals (Chicago/Turabian, MLA, APA, etc.) available for short period checkout.  Do a title search for your style manual in the EWU catalog, write down the call number and bring it with you to the circulation desk.

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need more help citing? Try the Guide

It is crucial to properly credit other author's ideas when conducting research. This page will serve as a brief guide to citations and introduction to research management tools. If needed, an in-depth guide to citations entitled Citations & Plagiarism  is available for your reference.

Citation & Formatting by Style

MLA style is generally used by subject areas in the humanities.  Overall, it is simpler than other styles, featuring parenthetical citations and an alphabetized list of references at the end.  Entries for the list of works cited must be aphabetical and double-spaced, with the indent of the subsequent line one-half inch from the left margin.

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the style manual of choice for writers, editors, students, educators, and professionals in psychology, sociology, business, economics, nursing, social work, and justice administration, and other disciplines.  In addition to providing clear guidance on grammar, the mechanics of writing, and APA style, the Publication Manual offers an authoritative and easy-to-use reference and citation system and comprehensive coverage of the treatment of numbers, metrication, statistical and mathematical data, tables, and figures for use in writing, reports, or presentations.

Chicago style is perhaps one of the more complex citation styles because it is really two systems under one name.  The Notes/Bibliography system is used mainly in the humanities.  The Author/Date style is typically used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences.   The main difference between the two systems the preference for notes (Notes/Bibliography) or parenthetical in-text citations (Author/Date) within the document.  For more specific information on the Chicago style, please refer to chapters 14-15 of the Chicago Manual of Style .

• Chicago Manual Online
• The Purdue OWL: Chicago Manual 17th Edition This section contains information on the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style method of document formatting and citation.

Turabian is Chicago style for students and researchers , based on the Chicago Manual of Style by Kate Turabian.  The two styles are so similar, they are often grouped together.  The main difference between the two styles, besides minor punctuation rules, is that Turabian has been adapted to suit the needs of students whereas Chicago focuses more on publication.  For more specific information on Turabian style, please refer to the Citations & Plagiarism guide.

Scientific style and format : the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers presents three systems for referring to references (also known as citations) within the text of a journal article, book, or other scientific publication: 1) citation–sequence; 2) name–year; and 3) citation–name. These abbreviated references are called in-text references. They refer to a list of references at the end of the document.

The system of in-text references that you use will determine the order of references at the end of your document. These end references have essentially the same format in all three systems, except for the placement of the date of publication in the name–year system.

Though Scientific Style and Format now uses citation–sequence for its own references, each system is widely used in scientific publishing. Consult your publisher to determine which system you will need to follow.

RefWorks Login, Features & Tutorials

• write & cite
• intro video

• Collect and Import  – With RefWorks it is simple and fast, to collect or import materials. Auto completion of reference data and retrieval of full text saves time and ensures accurate citations.
• Manage Research  – RefWorks enables users to organize, read, and annotate everything they collect and import.
• Share and Collaborate  – RefWorks smoothly allows users to share collections and collaborate with others.
• Write and Cite  – RefWorks is accurate, delivering thousands of customizable citation styles to use within authoring tools.
• Streamlined Workflows  - RefWorks makes research management and paper-writing easy with streamlined workflows that increase productivity.  

• New RefWorks Overview PDF
• RefWorks How to Videos A series of video tutorials that will teach you some of the basic features of RefWorks so you can get started.

Save with a single click. 

• save an unlimited number of references, fulltext, and other research materials
• import from online databases, catalogs, reference management tools, and your computer 
• quickly save references and fulltext from any web page
• automatically complete citation data using comprehensive ProQuest databases

• organize your data with collections and tags
• quickly search and find your references and fulltext document
• read and annotate fulltext documents with highlights and comments from anywhere
• sync your data to Dropbox and have a local copy of your fulltext

• collaborate on projects with share full access to resources
• allow collaborators granular levels of access
• take advantage of institutional and public collections
• interactively read, comment, and annotate fulltext with your collaborators
• Google Docs integration makes for easy collaboration

• generate bibliographies and citations in a snap for any authoring tool
• use RefWorks integrations to insert in-text citation in Word or Google Docs
• leverage thousands of pre-built citation styles and request new styles
• customize citation styles or even create your own from scratch

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• Why are there so many citation styles?

Which citation style should I use?

• Chicago Notes Style
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• Citing Sources

Citing Sources: Which citation style should I use?

The citation style you choose will largely be dictated by the discipline in which you're writing. For many assignments your instructor will suggest or require a certain style. If you're not sure which one to use, it's always best to check with your instructor or, if you are submitting a manuscript, the publisher to see if they require a certain style. In many cases, you may not be required to use any particular style as long as you pick one and use it consistently. If you have some flexibility, use the guide below to help you decide.

Disciplinary Citation Styles

• Social Sciences
• Sciences & Medicine
• Engineering

When in doubt, try: Chicago Notes

• Architecture & Landscape Architecture → try Chicago Notes or Chicago Author-Date
• Art → try Chicago Notes
• Art History → use  Chicago Notes
• Dance → try Chicago Notes or MLA
• Drama → try Chicago Notes or MLA
• Ethnomusicology → try Chicago Notes
• Music → try Chicago Notes
• Music History → use  Chicago Notes
• Urban Design & Planning → try Chicago Notes or Chicago Author-Date

When in doubt, try: MLA

• Cinema Studies → try MLA
• Classics → try Chicago Notes
• English → use  MLA
• History → use   Chicago Notes
• Linguistics → try MLA
• Languages → try MLA
• Literatures → use  MLA
• Philosophy → try MLA
• Religion → try Chicago Notes

When in doubt, try: APA or Chicago Notes

• Anthropology → try Chicago Author-Date
• Business → try APA (see also Citing Business Information from Foster Library)
• Communication → try APA
• Criminology & Criminal Justice → try Chicago Author-Date
• Economics → try APA
• Education → try APA
• Geography → try APA
• Government & Law (for non-law students) → try Chicago Notes
• History → try Chicago Notes
• Informatics → try APA
• Law (for law students) → use Bluebook
• Library & Information Science → try APA
• Museology → try Chicago Notes
• Political Science → try Chicago Notes
• Psychology → use  APA
• Social Work → try APA
• Sociology → use  ASA or Chicago Author-Date

When in doubt, try: CSE Name-Year or CSE Citation-Sequence

• Aquatic & Fisheries Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Astronomy → try AIP or CSE Citation-Sequence
• Biology & Life Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Chemistry → try ACS
• Earth & Space Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Environmental Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Forest Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Health Sciences: Public Health, Medicine, & Nursing → use AMA or NLM
• Marine Sciences → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Mathematics → try AMS or CSE Citation-Sequence
• Oceanography → try CSE Name-Year or APA
• Physics → try AIP or CSE Citation-Sequence
• Psychology  → use  APA

When in doubt, try: CSE Name-Year or IEEE

• Aeronautics and Astronautics → try CSE Citation-Sequence
• Bioengineering → try AMA or NLM
• Chemical Engineering → try ACS
• Civil and Environmental Engineering → try CSE Name-Year
• Computational Linguistics → try CSE Citation-Sequence
• Computer Science & Engineering → try IEEE
• Electrical and Computer Engineering → try IEEE
• Engineering (general) → try IEEE or CSE Name-Year
• Human Centered Design & Engineering → try IEEE
• Human-Computer Interaction + Design → try IEEE
• Industrial and Systems Engineering → try CSE Name-Yea r
• Mechanical Engineering → try Chicago Notes or Chicago Author-Date

See also: Additional Citation Styles , for styles used by specific engineering associations.

Pro Tip: Citation Tools Save Time & Stress!

If you’re enrolled in classes that each require a different citation style, it can get confusing really fast! The tools on the Quick Citation Generators section can help you format citations quickly in many different styles.

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• Last Updated: May 1, 2024 12:48 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/citations

HIS 131 - American History I: MLA Citation Help

• Research in History
• Find Articles
• Civil War Women
• Civil War Films
• Civil War Medicine
• Civil War Prisons
• Civil War Photography
• Books, eBooks, and Websites
• Civil War Weapons
• Civil War Leaders
• General Sherman
• African Americans in the Civil War
• American History Wargame
• Research Process
• MLA Citation Help
• Primary Documents for HIS131
• John Brown and Harper's Ferry
• ECHS - Native American Research Assignments

Citing Different Sources in MLA

• AI (Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT)
• Art (Displayed piece of art)
• Article in a Reference Book
• Bible (Scripture)
• Book with One Author
• Book with Two Authors
• Book with Three or more Authors
• Book with an edition
• Chapter in an Edited Book
• Class Readings from Questia/Cengage
• Course/Assignment information from Blackboard
• Films - Two Options
• Government Documents
• Image from Website
• Journal article, Library Database
• Music, Album or CD
• Music, Song on an Album
• Newspaper Article from the Web
• PDF or Report
• PDF or Report accessed from a website
• Primary Source from a Website
• Primary Source in a Textbook
• Religious Works with Version
• Short Story or Poem
• TV Show Episode
• TV show, Streaming Service
• Webpage with an Author AND a pub date
• Webpage with No Author, contains publication date
• Webpage with NO Author, NO pub date
• Webpage with an Author, no publication date
• Webpage with a Group Author and a pub date

Works Cited

“Explain the green light in the book  The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt.  ChatGPT , 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

In-text citation

("Explain the green light")

Klee, Paul.  Twittering Machine.  1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York.  The Artchive,  www . artchive.com/artchive/K/Klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

Intext would be (Klee).

"Ideology."  The American Heritage Dictionary.  3rd ed., 1997, pp 44-45.

To cite this source, page 44, for example: ("Ideology" 44)

The New Jerusalem Bible.  Henry Wansbrough, general editor, Doubleday, 1985.

In one of the most vivid prophetic visions in the Bible, Ezekial saw "what seems to be four living creatures" ( New Jerusalem Bible,  Ezek. 1.5). John of Patmos echoes this passage when describing his vision (Rev. 4.6-8).

**If you are only using one Bible, then you don't have to refer to the Bible's name except in the first intext citation. The rest of the intext citations can be the (Book, verse). 

***MLA Handbook, 2021, p. 247

Choi, Susan. Trust Exercise. Holt, 2019.

To cite entire book: (Choi)

To cite page 25, for example: (Choi 25)

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring . Allyn and Bacon, 2000. 

If citing the entire book (Gillespie and Lerner)

If citing pages 210-225 (Gillespie and Lerner 210-225)

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al.  Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition . Utah State UP, 2004.

If citing page 167, for example: (Wysocki et al. 167)

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee.  Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students . 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

If citing entire book: (Crowley and Hawhee)

If citing page 202, for example (Crowley and Hawkee 202)

Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers."  A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One,  edited by Ben Rafoth, Henemann, 2000, pp. 24-34.

If citing page 34 for example: (Harris 34)

If the original publication date is important for the reader to understand the context of the source, include it.

Franklin, Benjamin. "Emigration to America." 1782.  The Faber Book of America,  edited by Christopher Ricks and William L. Vance, Faber and Faber, 1992, pp. 24-26.

Intext would be (Franklin 24-26). 

Dickinson, Emily. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.”  The Oxford Book of American Verse , edited by F. O. Matthiessen, Oxford UP, 1950, p. 439.  Questia .

This reading is located in the Questia/Cengage compilation but was published in  The Oxford Book of American Verse.  The publishing information  is all located in the copyright box at the bottom of the reading.

The intext citation would still be 

(Dickinson 439)

Plott, Cassie. English 111. Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, April 2020, https://rccc.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_51000_1&content_id=_4450030_1.

Washington, Durthy. CliffsNotes on Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl . Cliffs Notes, 2000. EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=67062&site=ehost-live.

In-text citation is (Washington)

or in-text citation for page 33 is

(Washington 33)

Author. Title of ebook . Publisher, date. Name of database where you found the book , URL.

Blade Runner.  1982. Directed by Ridley Scott, performance by Harrison Ford, director's cut, Warner Bros., 1992.

Scott, Ridley, director.  Blade Runner.  1982. Performance by Harrison Ford, director's cut, Warner Bros., 1992.

For films, citations begin with the title unless you want to highlight some other aspect, such as the direction. In the first example, Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford are considered "Other contributors". The second example treats Ridley Scott as an "author" with Harrison Ford as another contributor. The Publisher is Warner Bros.

Highlights from the Competition Bureau’s Workshop on Emerging Competition Issues.  Competition Bureau of Canada, 4 Mar. 2016, www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/cb-Workshop-Summary-Report-e.pdf/$FILE/cb-Workshop-Summary-Report-e.pdf.  Accessed 6 July 2016

In-text citation is (name of document, can be shortened)

( HIghlights from the Competition Bureau's Workshop)

In-text citation if a direct quote from page 2, for example

( Highlights from the Competition Bureau's Workshop 2)

Doest, Jasper. "Japanese macaques take a hot bath during winter in Jigokudani."  National Geographic,  15 Sept. 2016, nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2016/09/snow-macaque-nice-shot. Accessed 17 Mar 2020.

Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 22 April 2020.

Intext citation is (Smith)

​ Zumla, Alimuddin, et al. "Vaccine Against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus."  The Lancet Infectious Diseases,  vol. 19, no. 10, 2019, pp. 1054-1055.  ProQuest,  https://proxy154.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2297096029? accountid=13601, doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30477-3.

To cite this article, page 1054, for example: (Zumla et al. 1054)

Chevelle. Wonder What's Next . Epic, 2002.

Intext would be (Chevelle)

Nirvana. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nevermind , Geffen, 1991.

Intext is (Nirvana)

Tavernise, Sabrina. "Disparity of Life Spans of the Rich and the Poor is Growing."  The New York Times,  12 Feb. 2016,  https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/health/disparity-in-life-spans-of-the-rich-and-the-poor-is-growing.html . 

(Tavernise)

Note that the URL is linked. This is an option in MLA 8th Edition. Your teacher may choose to allow this or not.

This format should be used for pdfs that you receive electronically but not via accessing a website. Even though you may have received this independently, you still need to find the URL that will lead your reader to the source.

Social, Humanitarian, & Cultural Committee (SOCHUM) Background Guide, 31st Annual Carolinas Conference, 2020, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58d5280103596edcfc032057/t/5f5937c0642457206e8c3057/1599682499567/SOCHUM+Background+Guide.pdf.

In-text citation is

( Social, Humanitarian, & Cultural Committee)

If a direct quote or statistic is used, from page 3 for example

( Social, Humanitarian, & Cultural Committee 3)

To cite a pdf from a website, you first cite the pdf with author, title, publisher and date and then cite the website with the URL.

For example, the following report doesn't have an author so you start with title, the publisher and date. Then you cite the website Duke Energy and that site's date.End with the URL.

Duke Energy 2019 Annual Report and Form 10-K, Duke Energy, 2019. Duke Energy, 2020, https://www.duke-energy.com/annual-report/_/media/pdfs/our-company/investors/de-annual-reports/2019/2019-duke-energy-annual-report.pdf?la=en.

( Duke Energy 2019 Annual Report)

If direct quote or statistic used, for example from page 4

( Duke Energy 2019 Annual Report 4)

Adams, John. "John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, 3 February 1812." 1812.  Founders Online,  National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-04-02-036. Accessed 1 February 2023

___________

*This website didn't have a publication date. Accessed dates are recommended for websites especially when there is no publication date.

Recomended formatting for primary sources on webpages.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Primary Source Document: Subtitle." Year of creation. Title of Website,  Publisher of Website, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.

Jackson, Andrew. "First Inaugural Address." 1829. Out of Many: A History of the American People . John Faragher et al., Pearson, 2020, p. 56. 

Intext is (author's last name page#)

(Jackson 56)

The Bible.  Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.

Intext citation is ( The Bible,  John 3:16)

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl."  The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories , edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

(Kincaid 306)

If all poems or stories are by the same author, there is typically not an editor-

Carter, Angela. "The Tiger's Bride."  Burning Your Boats: The Collected Stories,  Penguin, 1995, pp. 154-69.

(Carter 157)

"Hush." 1999.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Season,  created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, episode 10, Twentieth Century Fox, 2003, disc 3. 

"Chapter Six: The Monster."  Stranger Things,  season 1, episode 6, Netflix, 15 July 2016.  Netflix,  netflix.com/watch/80077373?trackld=13752289@tctx=0%2C%2Ca7112b65-16b2-46a38b1c-310fcb259da1-8921805

Chappelow, James. "Conflict Theory." Investopedia , 19 May 2019, www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conflict-theory.asp

(Chappelow) is the intext citation

Webpage with Access date

Wise, DeWanda. "Why TV Shows Make me Feel less Alone."  NAMI,  31 May 2019, https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/May-2019/How-TV-Shows-Make-Me-Feel-Less-Alone . Accessed 10 June 2020. 

"Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview."  WebMD,  25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.

("Athlete's")

September 25, 2014 is the publication date. There are no page numbers. The access date is optional. It is ok to shorten the title of the website; keep it in quotation marks.

"The Impact of Global Warming in North America."  Global Warming: Early Signs.  1999. www.climatehotmap.org/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.

Intext citation is ("Impact of Global Warming")

*The access date is optional. You can shorten the title of long sources. Keep the webpage title in quotation marks.

"Majors and Concentrations." UNC Greensboro, https://admissions.uncg.edu/academics/majors-concentrations/. Accessed 22 April 2020.

* Access date is recommended for sites with no publication date.

("Majors and Concentrations")

Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili."   eHow,  www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html.

To cite the webpage (Lundman)

There are no page numbers. Access date is optional but recommended if the webpage is one that updates regularly.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics. "Librarians." Occupational Outlook Handbook , 20 Dec 2019, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/librarians.htm. Accessed 10 June 2020.  

To intext cite

(U.S. Dept of Labor)

*Group authors can be abbreviated. The access date is recommended for webpages that update regularly.

If author is different from uploader

McGonigal, Jane. "Gaming and Productivity." YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKdzy9bWW3E.

Intext is (McGonigal)

If uploader is same as author

"8 Hot Dog Gadgets put to the Test." YouTube, uploaded by Crazy Russian Hacker, 6 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlpjSEtELs.

Intext is ("8 Hot Dog Gadgets")

MLA Tutorial

Order of core elements.

These are the elements or pieces of information for MLA citations.

•  Author. 
• Title of source. (Books are italicized, Webpages are in quotes, Article names are in quotes, Songs are in quotes)
• Title of container, (Journal names are in italics, websites are in italics, album names are in italics)
• Other contributors, (sometimes used for movies, books with translators, books with introductions, etc.)
• Version, (usually for items that have been updated or in different versions)
• Number,  (usually for items in a numbered series, ie Journal articles, multi-volume book series, TV series, etc.)
• Publisher, (publisher produces the items so is commonly available on books, webpages unless title is same as publisher, production companies for movies, etc. Websites that make things available but don't publish aren't included here, ie Youtube, Wordpress, Proquest .)
• Publication date, (if more than one, go with date that is more relevant)
• Location. (page numbers, URL, doi is recommended if available, physical location of art)
• Date of access. (Recommended for online sources especially if they can change. Your instructor may ask you not to do this however.) I ​​​ f you include an access date it is in this format: Accessed 10 June 2020.

What elements do you see here?

Wise, dewanda. "why tv shows make me feel less alone." nami ,  31 may 2019, http://www.nami.org/blogs/nami-blog/may-2019/how-tv-shows-make-me-feel-less-alone. accessed 10 june 2020. , author - dewanda wise, title of source - "why tv shows make me feel less alone", title of container - nami, publication date - 31 may 2019, location -  http://www.nami.org/blogs/nami-blog/may-2019/how-tv-shows-make-me-feel-less-alone., access date - 10 june 2020, direct quotes.

• APA Block, Long Direct Quotes
• MLA Block, Long Direct Quotes

Guidelines for Direct Quotes

A direct quote uses the exact words of a source. .

Think of the quote as a rare and precious jewel. 

Quotes can be super-effective in getting your point across to the reader. Just be sure you’re not stringing a bunch of quotes together – you want your voice to be stronger than the voice of your sources. You always need to interpret, analyze, add to and explain more about the quote to your reader.  

Here are some guidelines to help you decide when to use quotes:

• Wording that is so memorable, unforgettable or powerful, or expresses a point so perfectly, that you cannot change it without weakening the meaning.
• An important passage is so dense or rich that it requires you to analyze it closely. This requires that the passage be quoted so the reader can follow your analysis.
• A claim you are making is such that the doubting reader will want to hear exactly what the source said. This is mostly when you criticize or disagree with a source. You want your reader to know you aren't misrepresenting the source.
• Your attempts to paraphrase or summarize are awkward or much longer than the source material.

You may choose to quote an entire passage from a source or just words or phrases. Make sure to use signal words (see below) to move between your ideas and the words of your source. Also, always cite your work. 

Direct Quotes (MLA format):

As one of Obama's deputy assistants Yohannes Abraham explains, "It's really important to remember to just be a good person" (Scherer, Miller, and Elliott 36). 

As William Kneale suggests, some humans have a "moral deafness" which is never punctured no matter what the moral treatment (93).

For Charles Dickens, the eighteenth century was both "the best of times" and "the worst of times" (35). 

Direct Quotes (APA format)

As Ali Akbar Hamemi remarked, "There is no doubt that America is a super-power in the world and we cannot ignore them" (Vick, 2017, p. 13). 

Sometimes it may be necessary to include long direct quotes (of over 40 words) in your work if you are unable to paraphrase or summarize. A long quote is treated differently as a block quotation with a .5 inch margin from the left but still double-spaced.  Notice that there are no quotation marks around the block quotations even though these are direct quotes.  Here are two examples:

Block quotation with parenthetical citation:

Researchers found when studying gray wolves that coloring around eyes may change over the lifespan:

Facial color patterns change with growth in many American  canid  species, although no studies have directly examined such developmental changes. For example, all newborn gray wolves observed in the present study had dark-colored bodies and C-type faces with dark-colored irises. (Ueda et al., 2014, p. 4)

Ueda, S., Kumagai, G., Otaki, Y., Yamaguchi, S., & Kohshima, S. (2014). A comparison of facial color pattern and gazing behavior in canid species suggests gaze communication in gray wolves (canis lupus).  PLoS One,  9 (6) doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098217

Block quotation with narrative citation:

Manning and Kaler (2011) describe the difficulties of using survey methods when observing owls:

Survey  methods with observers outside the vehicle were 3 times more likely to displace an owl than a single vehicle stop where observers remained inside the vehicle. Owls were displaced farther distances by all survey methods compared to control trials, but distances and time displaced did not differ among survey methods.

Manning, J. A., & Kaler, R. S. A. (2011). Effects of survey methods on burrowing owl behaviors.  Journal of Wildlife Management,  75 (3), 525-530. Retrieved from https://proxy154.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/925615280?accountid=13601

For more information, see page 272 of the   Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7 th  ed.

If a quote runs more than four lines long, you must block the quote with a .5 margin on the left. Do not use quotation marks even though it's a direct quote.

At the conclusion of  Lord of the Flies,  Ralph, realizing the horror of his actions, is overcome by

great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. his voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding 186)

So, when using quotes:

• Always have a good reason  for using a direct quote. Otherwise, paraphrase or summarize.
• Do not allow quotes to speak for themselves . Your research paper is about communicating YOUR IDEAS.  Your research simply helps prove or support those ideas.
• Always make sure you  provide an analysis of the quote .  Show your readers that you understand how the quote relates to your ideas by analyzing its significance.
• Do not use quotes as padding . If quotes do not have adequate analysis, readers will feel that you don’t have a grasp on what that quote means, and they also might feel that you are using quotes as “filler” to take up space.
• Use no more than 2 direct quotes per paragraph .
• Carefully integrate quotations into your text so that they flow smoothly and clearly into the surrounding sentences. Use a signal phrase or signal verb, such as those in the following example:

As Thompson (2020) makes clear, Youtube's  algorithms "can’t distinguish between true and false data, except in the most crude way" (para. 5).  

Peas and Carrots

Whenever you have a reference at the end of your paper, you need at least one intext citation to go with it. Every intext citation should point to a reference at the end of your paper.

References and Intext Citations Go Together Like Peas and Carrots.

Your intext citation contains the first word(s) of your reference so the reader can find it easily.

For optimal decomposition, experts believe you should aim for a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 30:1 ( Johnson  29).

Johnson , Lorraine. "Compost Happens: The Secret to Making Quick Gardener's Gold Instead of a Slow, Stinking Mess Requires, Like Everything Else, Balance." Canadian Gardening, vol. 12, no. 1, Feb, 2001, pp. 28-33. ProQuest, https://proxy154.nclive.org/login?

How to Use Titles of Your Sources in the Text (Prose) of Your Paper

If you use the title of a book, play, article, song, or other source in your paper, use the same formatting that you use in the works cited page (list of references)., here are some examples of when to italicize..

​​​​​​ Here are some examples of when to use quotes.

Some sources get no special formatting. 

Examples from MLA Handbook, 9th Edition, 2021. pages 68-73.

Source within a Source, Indirect Source, Secondary Source

I am reading about John Reith in the  Humanities, Society and Technology  textbook by Satterwhite and other authors.

I paraphrased what I read and I wrote this.

John Reith lead the BBC as its first General Manager and wanted to keep the BBC "free from political interference and commercial pleasure" (qtd. in Satterwhite et al. 145). 

Here's what goes in the Works Cited because this is the source I read.

Satterwhite, Robin, et al.  Humanities, Society and Technology . Kendall Hunt, 2015.

*The qtd. in the intext citation shows that the information in the Humanities book was originally somewhere else. 

Maybe this will make it more clear for you.

You are reading about Smith in an article by Kirkey.

Examples of in-text citations:

According to a study by Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) 42% of doctors would refuse to perform legal euthanasia.

Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) states that “even if euthanasia was legal, 42% of doctors would be against this method of assisted dying” (A.10).

Example of Reference list citation:

Kirkey, Susan. "Euthanasia."   The Montreal Gazette , 9 Feb. 2013, p. A.10.  Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies.

MLA Sample Paper and Citation Guides (Updated June 2021, MLA 9)

• MLA Sample Paper - STUDENT USE
• MLA9 Citation Guide
• Social Media Citations MLA

• Running Header, right aligned, Student's Last Name and page number.
• 1" margins for the paper - on all sides
• Left aligned for paragraphs
• Paragraph indentions are .5"
• Most teachers require Times New Roman 12 pt
• No title page
• No bold print in text
• Student's Name
• Instructor's Name
• Class name and number
• Date in format date Month year (ie 11 June 2020) 

Intext Citations

MLA uses Author-page Style for parenthetical intext citations (at the end of the sentence) or the page number goes in the parenthesis at the end of the sentence for narrative intext citations (where the author's name is in the sentence).

• Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
• Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
• Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
• Wordsworth, William.  Lyrical Ballads. O xford UP, 1967.

Other things to know:

• For sources like webpages with no page numbers, do NOT include page numbers or paragraph numbers , even for direct quotes  (MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition, page 248) . 
• It's recommended to abbreviate long names of corporate or group authors in the intext. For example, Centers for Disease Control can be CDC in the intext citation.
• Page numbers are required for all citations; not just direct quotes.
• Purdue Owl says not to number paragraphs on webpages for the intext citations. 

Personal Interview MLA Style

References for personal interview in mla style follow this format:,      last, first name of interviewed. personal interview. date of interview.,      smith, jane. personal interview. 19 may 2014., intext citations follow this format:,      (last name),      (smith), long block quotes (mla).

great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. his voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (186)

Paraphrasing/Summarizing

• APA Long Paraphrase
• MLA Long Paraphrase

Guidelines for Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Think of Paraphrases and Summaries as your foundations

Paraphrase and summarize long passages where the main point is important to the point you are making, but the details are not . You should use paraphrasing and summarizing much more often than direct quotes. A good balance would be 75% paraphrasing and summarizing and 25% direct quotes.

Paraphrase:  You are paraphrasing when you take someone else’s words and rewrite them in your own words without altering the meaning or providing interpretation. Paraphrases are about the same length as the original. Always cite your paraphrase. Summarize: You are summarizing  when you condense the author's words or ideas without altering the meaning or providing interpretation using your own words -- basically, you’re presenting the original information in a nutshell. Always cite it.

Examples of Paraphrases

Introduce paraphrases clearly in your text, usually with a signal phrase that includes the author of the source. Here is original text and paraphrased text.

Volunteers feel more socially connected, they're less lonely, and suffer from depression less, studies show. Volunteering creates physical benefits too: Regular volunteers are less likely to develop  high blood pressure  and live longer, some studies show. (text is from "Dalai Lama: 5 Things to Keep in Mind for the Next Four Years" from CNN.com, written by Jen Christensen)

Paraphrased text in APA style:

Volunteering has psychological and physical benefits, according to studies. Along with being less depressed and lonely, volunteers also live longer and are less likely to have high blood pressure (Christensen, 2017).

Paraphrased text in MLA style:

Volunteering has psychological and physical benefits, according to studies. Along with being less depressed and lonely, volunteers also live longer and are less likely to have high blood pressure (Christensen).

Examples of Summaries

Summaries, too, need to be carefully integrated into your text.   Make sure to signal the reader that you are summarizing and include the correct citation.

Here is an example of a summary in APA format:

In Christensen's article, she explores Dalai Lama's advice to people who want to find happiness in an uncertain world. His Holiness believes that people should focus on developing compassion, letting go of anger, self-reflecting, helping others, and being playful like children (Christensen, 2017). 

Here's the summary in MLA format:

In Christensen's article, she explores Dalai Lama's advice to people who want to find happiness in an uncertain world. His Holiness believes that people should focus on developing compassion, letting go of anger, self-reflecting, helping others, and being playful like children (Christensen). 

Whenever you include summaries, paraphrases, or quotations in your own writing, it is important that you identify the sources of the material; even unintentional failure to cite material is plagiarism. Be especially careful with paraphrases and summaries, where there are no quotation marks to remind you that the material is not your own.

Often, long paraphrases continue for multiple sentences. Usually you'll intext cite the source in the first sentence. It is not necessary to cite every single sentence IF you've made it clear in the narrative that the information discussed is from the before-mentioned source.

*Note that the bold words show where the information is coming from . Students should NOT bold the words.

Here's an example:

Tucker and Maddey (2020) found that predatory behavior in dogs is due to many different factors. One of the factors is the physical territory of the alleged threat. The research found that "dogs are more willing to attack or defend territory that is considered to be their own" (Tucker & Maddey, 2020, p. 81) . Another factor they discovered is that dogs are more willing to prey on a threat if their human owners are nearby. In an experiment conducted over multiple days using cameras, Tucker and Maddey  discovered that dogs were shown to be much more protective with predatory behavior when their owners were in the vicinity they when the owners were away. In conclusion, the research shows that dogs have innate predatory behavior traits which are enhanced by the dogs' desires to protect their human owners (Tucker & Maddey, 2020) .   

If you're using information from a source more than once in a row (with no other sources referred to in between), you can use a simplified in-text citation. The first time you use information from the source, use a full in-text citation. The second time, you only need to give the page number.

Cell biology is an area of science that focuses on the structure and function of cells (Smith 15). It revolves around the idea that the cell is a "fundamental unit of life" (17). Many important scientists have contributed to the evolution of cell biology. Mattias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, for example, were scientists who formulated cell theory in 1838 (20). 

*Thank you to the Library at Columbia College for this example.

Reasons why you would want to paraphrase from a source:

• To change the organization of ideas for emphasis.  You may have to change the organization of ideas in the passages you pull from your sources so that you can emphasize the points  most related to your paper.  Be sure to restate in your own words, but don’t change the meaning.
• To simplify the material.  You may have to simplify complex arguments, sentences, or vocabulary.
• To clarify the material.  You may have rewrite to clarify technical passages or put specialized information into language your audience will be better able to understand.

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because:

• It is better than quoting information from a passage that doesn't have memorable or important words or phrases
• It helps you control the temptation to quote too much
• It allows the writer to put the idea of a source into their own voice (but always cite it to show it is someone else's idea).

Tips on Summarizing:

A summary is a  condensed  version of someone else’s writing. Like paraphrasing, summarizing involves using your own words and writing style to express another author’s ideas. Unlike the paraphrase, which presents important details, the summary presents only the most important ideas of the passage. For example, you could summarize a book in a sentence, or in several paragraphs, depending on your writing situation and audience. You may use the summary often for the following reasons:

• To condense the material. You may have to condense or reduce the source material to pull out the  points that relate to your paper.
• To omit extras from the material. You may have to leave out extra information from the source material so you can focus on the author’s main points.
• To simplify the material.  You may have to simply the most important complex arguments, sentences or vocabulary in the source material.

When you decide to  summarize or paraphrase, avoid the following:

• keeping the same structure of ideas and/or sentence structure
• just changing some of the words
• adding your ideas into the summary - be faithful to the meaning of the source material.
• forgetting to cite your sources and use signal words.

Abbreviations for Months for Works Cited List

Citing more than one source by same author.

If you have more than one work by the same author, use the title or beginning of the title in the intext citation and a page number if available . The sources are both by Maddey Tucker. 

For some dogs, food is a motivator but for other dogs, this isn't true ("Art of a Dog"). Having multiple dogs living together domestically is also a factor in feeding and food motivation ("Food and Your Dog" 45). 

Notice in the Works Cited page, you don't repeat the name of the author but instead use three hyphens (---) to indicate the same author on all the sources after the first one . Both of these sources are by Maddey Tucker.

Tucker, Maddey. "Art of a Dog."  Dog's Life, 4 Aug 2019,    www.dogslife.com/tuck/art

---. "Food and Your Dog." Animals Monthly,  2 Mar 2018, pp. 44-47. 

Citing an Illustration, Figure, or Drawing

Fig. 1. Bill Bamberger.  Deandry , 2001; printed 2005, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC.

Bamberger, Bill.  Deandry , 2001; printed 2005, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC.

Other Resources

Dealing with Numbers in MLA

When there are few numbers in your text, spell out numbers that can be written in a word or two.

Use numerals when the number requires more than two words

Use numerals when using numbers in text with units behind the numbers. For example, 60 inches or 8 kilograms would be in numerals. 

Abbreviations for Bible Verses

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Quick Links

Listed below are a few quick links to resources that will aid you in citing sources.

• Sign up for a Mendeley, EndNote, or Zotero training class.
• APA 7th Edition Published in October 2019. Visit this page for links to resources and examples.
• MLA Need help with citing MLA style? Find information here along with links to books in PittCat and free online resources.
• Chicago/Turabian Need help with citing Chicago/Turabian style? Find examples here along with links to the online style manual and free online resources.

Getting Started: How to use this guide

This LibGuide was designed to provide you with assistance in citing your sources when writing an academic paper.

There are different styles which format the information differently. In each tab, you will find descriptions of each citation style featured in this guide along with links to online resources for citing and a few examples.

What is a citation and citation style?

A citation is a way of giving credit to individuals for their creative and intellectual works that you utilized to support your research. It can also be used to locate particular sources and combat plagiarism. Typically, a citation can include the author's name, date, location of the publishing company, journal title, or DOI (Digital Object Identifier).

A citation style dictates the information necessary for a citation and how the information is ordered, as well as punctuation and other formatting.

How to do I choose a citation style?

There are many different ways of citing resources from your research. The citation style sometimes depends on the academic discipline involved. For example:

• APA (American Psychological Association) is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences
• MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities
• Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts

*You will need to consult with your professor to determine what is required in your specific course.

Click the links below to find descriptions of each style along with a sample of major in-text and bibliographic citations, links to books in PittCat, online citation manuals, and other free online resources.

• APA Citation Style
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• Tools for creating bibliographies (CItation Managers)

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Citing an Oral History

Citing an online oral history interview:

Transcript, " It Became My Case Study": Michael Cowan's Four Decades at UC Santa Cruz , Interviewed by Irene Reti page 27, (Regional History Project, UCSC Library. Online: http://library.ucsc.edu/reg-hist/it-became-my-case-study-professor-michael-cowans-four-decades-at-uc-santa-cruz (Accessed June 13, 2013).

Bibliographic citation for a single interview:

Reti, Irene., " It Became My Case Study": Michael Cowan's Four Decades at UC Santa Cruz , transcript of an oral history conducted 2012 by Irene Reti, Regional History Project, UC Santa Cruz Library, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2013, 458 pp.

Footnote citation for a single interview:

Irene Reti, " It Became My Case Study": Michael Cowan's Four Decades at UC Santa Cruz , transcript of an oral history conducted 2012 by Irene Reti, Regional History Project, UC Santa Cruz Library, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2013, pp 10-11.

Bibliographic citation for one interview in a multi-volume oral history:

Laird, John,  transcript of an oral history conducted 2001, in Out in the Redwoods: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at UC Santa Cruz, 1965 - 2003 , Regional History Project, UC Santa Cruz Library, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2004.

Footnote citation for one interview in a multi-volume oral history:

John Laird, Transcript of an oral history conducted 2001, in Out in the Redwoods: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at UC Santa Cruz, 1965 - 2003 , Regional History Project, UC Santa Cruz Library, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2004, pp.148-149.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Research and Citation Resources

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.

If you are having trouble locating a specific resource please visit the  search page  or the  Site Map . The Citation Chart  provides a detailed overview of MLA Style, APA Style, and Chicago Manual of Style source documentation by category.

Conducting Research

These OWL resources will help you conduct research using primary source methods, such as interviews and observations, and secondary source methods, such as books, journals, and the Internet. This area also includes materials on evaluating research sources.

Using Research

These OWL resources will help you use the research you have conducted in your documents. This area includes material on quoting and paraphrasing your research sources, as well as material on how to avoid plagiarism.

APA Style (7th Edition)

These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the References page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.

These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the Works Cited page, as well as MLA sample papers, slide presentations, and the MLA classroom poster

Chicago Manual of Style

This section contains information on the Chicago Manual of Style method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, which was issued in 2017.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Style

These resources describe how to structure papers, cite sources, format references, and handle the complexities of tables and figures according to the latest Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) guidelines.

American Medical Association (AMA) Style

These resources provide guidance on how to cite sources using American Medical Association (AMA) Style, 10th Ed., including examples for print and electronic sources.

Research Overview

We live in an age overflowing with sources of information. With so many information sources at our fingertips, knowing where to start, sorting through it all and finding what we want can be overwhelming! This handout provides answers to the following research-related questions: Where do I begin? Where should I look for information? What types of sources are available?

Conducting Primary Research

Primary research involves collecting data about a given subject directly from the real world. This section includes information on what primary research is, how to get started, ethics involved with primary research and different types of research you can do. It includes details about interviews, surveys, observations, and analysis.

Evaluating Sources of Information

Evaluating sources of information is an important step in any research activity. This section provides information on evaluating bibliographic citations, aspects of evaluation, reading evaluation, print vs. online sources, and evaluating Internet sources.

Searching Online

This section covers finding information online. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, Web directories, and the invisible Web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section.

Internet References

This page contains links and short descriptions of writing resources including dictionaries, style manuals, grammar handbooks, and editing resources. It also contains a list of online reference sites, indexes for writers, online libraries, books and e-texts, as well as links to newspapers, news services, journals, and online magazines.

Archival Research

This resource discusses conducting research in a variety of archives. It also discusses a number of considerations and best practices for conducting archival research.

This resources was developed in consultation with Purdue University Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections staff.

S.Res. 691: A resolution expressing support for the designation of May 17, 2024, as “DIPG Pediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Day” to raise awareness of, and encourage research on, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma tumors and pediatric cancers in general.

React to this resolution with an emoji, save your opinion on this resolution on a six-point scale from strongly oppose to strongly support.

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Sponsor and status

Marco Rubio

Sponsor. Senior Senator for Florida. Republican.

Agreed To (Simple Resolution) on May 15, 2024

This simple resolution was agreed to on May 15, 2024. That is the end of the legislative process for a simple resolution.

5 Cosponsors (3 Republicans, 2 Democrats)

S.Res. 691 is a simple resolution in the United States Congress.

A simple resolution is used for matters that affect just one chamber of Congress, often to change the rules of the chamber to set the manner of debate for a related bill. It must be agreed to in the chamber in which it was introduced. It is not voted on in the other chamber and does not have the force of law.

Resolutions numbers restart every two years. That means there are other resolutions with the number S.Res. 691. This is the one from the 118 th Congress.

How to cite this information.

We recommend the following MLA -formatted citation when using the information you see here in academic work:

GovTrack.us. (2024). S.Res. 691 — 118th Congress: A resolution expressing support for the designation of May 17, 2024, as “DIPG Pediatric Brain …. Retrieved from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/sres691

“S.Res. 691 — 118th Congress: A resolution expressing support for the designation of May 17, 2024, as “DIPG Pediatric Brain ….” www.GovTrack.us. 2024. May 19, 2024 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/sres691>

A resolution expressing support for the designation of May 17, 2024, as “DIPG Pediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Day” to raise awareness of, and encourage research on, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma tumors and pediatric cancers in general, S. Res. 691, 118th Cong. (2024).

{{cite web |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/sres691 |title=S.Res. 691 (118th) |accessdate=May 19, 2024 |author=118th Congress (2024) |date=May 15, 2024 |work=Legislation |publisher=GovTrack.us |quote=A resolution expressing support for the designation of May 17, 2024, as “DIPG Pediatric Brain … }}

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GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov , the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project .

Prognosis Details

This resolution has a . . .

100% chance of being agreed to.

87% of simple resolutions that made it past committee in 2021–2023 were agreed to.

Factors considered:

These factors are correlated with either an increased or decreased chance of being agreed to.

Please read our full methodology for further details.

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Computer Science > Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition

Title: sakuga-42m dataset: scaling up cartoon research.

Abstract: Hand-drawn cartoon animation employs sketches and flat-color segments to create the illusion of motion. While recent advancements like CLIP, SVD, and Sora show impressive results in understanding and generating natural video by scaling large models with extensive datasets, they are not as effective for cartoons. Through our empirical experiments, we argue that this ineffectiveness stems from a notable bias in hand-drawn cartoons that diverges from the distribution of natural videos. Can we harness the success of the scaling paradigm to benefit cartoon research? Unfortunately, until now, there has not been a sizable cartoon dataset available for exploration. In this research, we propose the Sakuga-42M Dataset, the first large-scale cartoon animation dataset. Sakuga-42M comprises 42 million keyframes covering various artistic styles, regions, and years, with comprehensive semantic annotations including video-text description pairs, anime tags, content taxonomies, etc. We pioneer the benefits of such a large-scale cartoon dataset on comprehension and generation tasks by finetuning contemporary foundation models like Video CLIP, Video Mamba, and SVD, achieving outstanding performance on cartoon-related tasks. Our motivation is to introduce large-scaling to cartoon research and foster generalization and robustness in future cartoon applications. Dataset, Code, and Pretrained Models will be publicly available.

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Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs .