A References page is a list at the end of your paper and lists all of the resources you cited in your paper.
References will be a separate page from your paper and have your resources listed alphabetically by author (or title as needed) then by date (as needed). Consult a style guide for specific resources or ask your professor.
How you create, order, and format a citation depends on the type of resource you used, how you accessed it, and what publication information the source provides.
A citation gives credit to the source where you found the information you use to support your argument or analysis. That way, people can look at these citations to find the sources.
Citations are composed of these parts of a resource: Author, Title, Publication Information, and Date. The elements of a citation can vary from format to format and how the resource was accessed.
In your paper, you will add a brief citation that will lead to a page of the resources you used at the end of your paper where the full citation goes into more detail. That way, your paper is neat.
Nowadays, most library databases have a "cite" function that will generate a full citation in the style you need. You can use that as a starting point and re-format or correct it as you need.
Non-library resources don't have a citation generator, but they have the information for you to create one, you simply need to look through the resource.
These are digital locators for online resources. Resources on the internet can be available in more than one place or aren't freely available. DOIs are the best way to track down a resource that is online. URLs and permalinks (aka stable links) can take you to a specific location—but you might not be able to access the resource.
When a DOI is available, please include it even if you used a print version of the source. Many academic resources include one now and many older resources have been given one.
When there isn't a DOI for an online resource, there are few options. Depending on the resource and it's location, you can:
There are additional rules and suggestions when using a DOI or URL. Consult the guide book or ask your professor for preferences on shortened links or access dates.
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Whole Book |
Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of Work. Publisher. DOI Or Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of Work. Publisher |
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Whole Book with 2 Authors |
1st Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial & 2nd Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of Work. Publisher. |
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Whole Book with 3 or More Authors |
1st Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial, 2nd Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial, & 3rd Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of Work. Publisher. |
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Whole Book with Editor |
Editor’s Last Name, First Initial. (Ed.). (Year). Title of Work. Publisher. DOI |
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E-Book |
Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of Work. Publisher, DOI |
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Audiobook |
Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. Title of Work (Narrator’s First Name Initial Last Name, Narr.)[Audiobook]. Publisher, URL |
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Section of a Book |
Section Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of Section. In Editor’s First Name Initial Last Name (Ed.), Title of Work (Page Range). Publisher. DOI |
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Journal |
Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume #(Issue #), Page Range. DOI |
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Magazine |
Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year, Month). Title of article. Title of Magazine, Volume # (Issue #), Page Range. URL Or Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Magazine. DOI |
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Newspaper |
Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of Article. Title of Newspaper, Page. Or Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of Article. Title of Newspaper, URL |
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Web Page |
Author’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of Page. Title of Site. URL Organization. (Year, Month). Title of page. Title of Site. URL Or Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of Page. Title of Site. Retrieved Date, from URL |
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Social Media |
User’s Last Name, First Name Initial [@handle]. (Year, Month Day). Title of Post [Type of post]. Social Media Platform. URL Or User’s Last Name, First Name Initial [@handle]. (n.d.). First twenty words of post [Description of post] [Type of post]. Social Media Platform. Retrieved Month Day, Year, URL Or Organization. (n.d.). Content of post [Type of post]. Social Media Platform. Retrieved Date, from URL |
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Movie |
Director’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Director). (Year). Title of Movie [Description]. Studio. URL |
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TV Show |
Executive Producer’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Executive Producer). (Years of Shows Run). Title of TV Show [TV Series]. Studio; Channel. |
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TV Show Episode |
Writer’s Last Name, First Name Initial (Writer), & Director’s Last Name, First Name Initial (Director). (Date Aired). Title of episode (Season #, Episode #) [TV Series Episode]. Title of TV Show. Studio; Channel. |
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Music Album |
Artist’s Name (Year). Title of Music Album [Album]. Label. |
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Song |
Artist’s Last Name, First Name Initial (Year). Title of Song [Song]. On Music Album. Label. |
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Artwork |
Artist’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year Range). Title of artwork [Description or Medium]. Museum, City, Country. Or Artist’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). [Description of art with medium]. Museum, City, State. URL |
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Photo |
Photographer’s Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Title of photograph [Photograph]. Publisher. URL |