A citation gives credit to the source where you found the information you use to support your argument or analysis. That way, people can check the information you used to double-check your resources or to use for their own research.
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 flows and can be easily verified.
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.
Other resources don't generate a citation, but they have the information for you to create one, you simply need to look through the resource.
A Bibliography is a list at the end of your paper that lists all of the resources you quoted from in your paper.
A Bibliography 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 the 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.
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1 Author |
1st Note |
1. Author’s First Name Last Name, Title of Work, (Publication Location: Publisher, Year), Page Range. 2. Author’s First Name Last Name, “Title of Article,” Title of Journal Volume #, Issue # (Publication Date): Page Range. |
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Shortened |
3. Author’s Last Name, Title of Work, Page Range. 4. Author’s Last Name, “Title of Article,” Page #. |
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2 Authors |
1st Note |
5. 1st Authors First Name Last Name and 2nd Authors First Name Last Name, Title of Work, (Publication Location: Publisher, Year), Page Range. |
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Shortened |
6. 1st Author’s Last Name and 2nd Author’s Last Name, Title of Work, Page Range. |
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4 or more Authors |
1st Note |
7. 1st Author’s Frist Name Last Name et al., Title of Work, (Publication Location: Publisher, Year), Page Range. |
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Shortened |
8. 1st Author’s Last Name et al., Title of Work, Page Range. |
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Corporate, Organization, or Government Author |
1st Note |
9. Organization’s Name. Title of Work, (Publication Location: Publisher, Year). |
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Shortened |
10. Organization’s Name. Title of Work, Page Range. |
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No Author |
1st Note |
11. Title of Work (Publication Location, Year). |
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Shortened |
12. Title of Work, Page #. 13. “Title of Article,” Page Range. |
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Page or Part of a Website |
1st Note |
14. “Title of Page,” Title of Website, Publisher, Date, URL. |
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Shortened |
15. “Title of Page.” |
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Film/Video |
1st Note |
16. Title of Movie, directed by Director’s First Name Last Name (Production Company, Year), x:xx:xx to x:xx:xx. 17. Title of Movie, directed by Director’s First Name Last Name (Production Company, Year), Format. 18. Title of Movie, directed by Director’s First Name Last Name (Production Company, Year), URL. |
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Shortened |
19. Title of Movie. 20. Title of Movie, x:xx:xx to x:xx:xx. |
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TV Episode |
1st Note |
21. Title of Show, season #, episode #, “Episode Title,” directed by Director’s First Name Last Name, written by Writer’s Frist Name Last Name, aired Date Aired, on Channel. 22. Title of Show, season #, episode #, “Episode Title,” directed by Director’s First Name Last Name, aired Date Aired, on Channel/Platform, URL. |
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Shortened |
22. Title of Show. |
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Song |
1st Note |
23. Artist’s Name, “Title of Song,” track # on Title of Album, Production Company, Year, Format. |
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Shortened |
24. Artist’s Name, “Title of Song.” |
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Art |
1st Note |
25. Artist’s First Name, Last Name. Title of Work, Year, medium, Museum, City. 26. Artist’s First Name, Last Name. Title of Work, Year, medium, Museum, City, URL.
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Shortened |
27. Artist’s Last Name, Title of Work. |
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Video Game |
1st Note |
28. Title of Game, Version (Company, Year), System. |
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Shortened |
29. Title of Game. |
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Whole Book |
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. |
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Whole Book with 2 Authors |
1st Author’s Last Name, First Name and 2nd Author’s First Name Last Name. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. |
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Whole Book with Editor |
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Edited by Editor’s First Name Last Name, Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. |
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E-Book |
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date, Access Point. |
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Audiobook |
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Read by Narrator’s First Last Name. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. Format. Time Run. |
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Section of a Book |
Section Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Section.” In Title of Work, edited by Editors First Name Last Name, Page Range. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. |
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Journal |
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Volume #, Issue # (Date): Page Range. Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Volume #, Issue # (Date): Page Range, URL. |
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Magazine |
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine, Date. Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine, Date. URL. Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine, Date. Database. |
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Newspaper |
As a general rule, a Bibliography entry isn’t needed, a note citation will be enough.
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Newspaper. Date. Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Newspaper. Date. URL. |
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Web Page |
Title of Website. “Title of Page,” Owner, Date, URL. Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Page,” Title of Website, Owner, Updated Date, URL. Title of Website. “Title of Page,” Owner, Last modified Date, URL. Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Page,” Title of Website, Owner, Accessed Date, URL. |
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Social Media |
As a general rule, a Bibliography entry isn’t needed, a note citation will be enough.
Last Name and First Name. “Text of Post.” Social Media Platform, Date. URL. |
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Movie |
Title of Movie. Directed by Directors First Name Last Name, Studio, Year. Run Time. Or Director’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Movie. Studio, Year. Run Time. Title of Movie. Directed by Director’s First Name Last Name, screenplay by Screenwriter’s First Name Last Name, Studio, Year. Streaming Service app. |
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TV Show Episode |
Title of TV Show. Season #, episode #, “Title of Episode.” Directed by Director’s First Name Last Name. Date Aired, on Channel. Title of TV Show. Season #, episode #, “Title of Episode.” Directed by Director’s First Name Last Name, Season #, episode #, Production Company, Physical Published Date. |
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Music |
Artist’s Name. Title of Album. Studio, Year. Artist’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Album. Publisher, Year. Music Streaming Platform app. |
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Video Game |
Publisher. Title of Video Game. Publisher, Date. System. |
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Artwork |
As a general rule, a Bibliography entry isn’t needed, a note citation will be enough.
Artist’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork. Date. Description. Museum, Location. Artist Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork. Date. Medium. Museum, Location, URL. |
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Photo |
Photographer’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Photo. Date. Photoraph. Museum, Location. |