Library — Citation Guide

MLA (9th Edition) — Modern Language Association

Used in: humanities, literature, language arts.

In-Text (Parenthetical) Citations

Format

(Author Last Name Page#)

Direct quote

"The city was silent at dawn" (Morrison 34).

Paraphrase

The city was described as eerily quiet in the early morning (Morrison 34).

No author

("Shortened Title" Page#)

Two authors

(Smith and Jones 22)

Three or more authors

(Smith et al. 45)

No page number (website)

(Johnson)

🛠 Practice: Spot & Fix the Errors

❌ Wrong — In-text citation

Smith says the city was quiet. (page 34)

Errors: author name inside text doesn't need repeating; "page" should not be spelled out; period goes after parenthesis.

✅ Corrected

Smith says the city was quiet (34).

❌ Wrong — Works Cited book entry

Toni Morrison, Beloved, Knopf, 1987.

Errors: first name should come last; title must be italicized; no comma before publisher.

✅ Corrected

Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Knopf, 1987.

❌ Wrong — Website Works Cited

Jane Smith. How to Write. writingtoday.com. 2024.

Errors: missing quotes around page title; site name not italicized; date format incorrect; URL needs full format.

✅ Corrected

Smith, Jane. "How to Write." Writing Today, 10 Jan. 2024, www.writingtoday.com/how-to-write.

Works Cited Entries

Book

Last, First. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Book — Example

Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Knopf, 1987.

Website

Last, First. "Page Title." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL.

Website — Example

Smith, Jane. "How to Write." Writing Today, 10 Jan. 2024, www.writingtoday.com/how-to-write.

Journal Article

Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. ##–##.

Journal — Example

Jones, Alex. "Memory and Narrative." Literary Review, vol. 12, no. 3, 2022, pp. 45–60.

APA (7th Edition) — American Psychological Association

Used in: social sciences, psychology, education, nursing.

In-Text (Parenthetical) Citations

Format

(Author, Year, p. Page#)

Direct quote

"The results were significant" (Smith, 2021, p. 45).

Paraphrase (no page needed)

The study found notable improvements (Smith, 2021).

Two authors

(Smith & Jones, 2020, p. 10)

Three or more authors

(Smith et al., 2019)

Organization as author

(American Heart Association, 2022)

🛠 Practice: Spot & Fix the Errors

❌ Wrong — In-text citation

(Brown 2018 p45)

Errors: missing comma after author; "p" needs a period and space; missing comma before page.

✅ Corrected

(Brown, 2018, p. 45)

❌ Wrong — Reference list book

Brown D (2018) The psychology of learning Academic Press

Errors: period after initial; year needs parentheses and period after; title should be italicized; period needed before publisher.

✅ Corrected

Brown, D. (2018). The psychology of learning. Academic Press.

❌ Wrong — Journal article

Garcia L. "Cognitive load in online learning." Journal of Education 15(2): 100-115.

Errors: missing year in parentheses; article title should NOT be in quotes; journal name should be italicized; volume should be italicized; use en-dash for page range; needs DOI.

✅ Corrected

Garcia, L. (2021). Cognitive load in online learning. Journal of Education, 15(2), 100–115. https://doi.org/10.1234/je.2021

Reference List Entries

Book

Last, F. M. (Year). Title of book. Publisher.

Book — Example

Brown, D. (2018). The psychology of learning. Academic Press.

Website

Last, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL

Website — Example

Centers for Disease Control. (2023, March 5). Understanding flu vaccines. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines

Journal Article

Last, F. M. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, volume(issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Journal — Example

Garcia, L. (2021). Cognitive load in online learning. Journal of Education, 15(2), 100–115. https://doi.org/10.1234/je.2021

Turabian (9th Edition) — Based on Chicago Style

Used in: history, theology, social sciences. Two systems: Notes-Bibliography (humanities) and Author-Date (sciences).

Notes-Bibliography System — Footnotes/Endnotes

First full note — Book

1. First Last, Title of Book (City: Publisher, Year), Page#.

Example

1. John Smith, The Age of Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 45.

Shortened note (after first citation)

2. Smith, Age of Revolution, 78.

Bibliography entry — Book

Last, First. Title of Book. City: Publisher, Year.

Example

Smith, John. The Age of Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Website — Note

3. First Last, "Page Title," Site Name, Month Day, Year, URL.

Example

3. Jane Doe, "Writing Tips," Writing Today, January 5, 2023, www.writingtoday.com.

Author-Date System (in-text)

Format

(Author Year, Page#)

Example

(Smith 2010, 45)

Reference entry — Book

Last, First. Year. Title of Book. City: Publisher.

Example

Smith, John. 2010. The Age of Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press.

🛠 Practice: Spot & Fix the Errors

❌ Wrong — Footnote

1. Smith John, The Age of Revolution, Oxford University Press, 2010, pg 45.

Errors: first name should come first in notes; title must be italicized; city of publication required; "pg" should be just the number after a comma.

✅ Corrected

1. John Smith, The Age of Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 45.

❌ Wrong — Bibliography entry

John Smith. The Age of Revolution. Oxford University Press. 2010.

Errors: last name must come first; title must be italicized; city required before publisher; use colon between city and publisher.

✅ Corrected

Smith, John. The Age of Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

❌ Wrong — Author-Date in-text

(Smith, 2010 p. 45)

Error: Turabian Author-Date uses no comma between year and page; no "p." needed.

✅ Corrected

(Smith 2010, 45)