Professional and Technical Writing/Documenting Your Sources/Location Of Citations In The Text

Location Of Citations In The Text

•Sources are cited in the body of a text with the use of parentheses. The type of citation style will differ depending on what is put inside the parentheses. These parentheses are always put on the inside of the sentence's period or comma.

Example: Using APA style formatting- According to J.C. Smith (2010, pg. 777), "It is important to always write clearly and succinctly."

Citing One Source for One Sentence, Quotation or Fact

•For one sentence, the citation is put in parentheses immediately after the referred sentence, quotation, or fact.

Example: On November 8, 2009, the world's largest cookie was made (Smith, 2009).

Citing One Source for Multiple Sentences

•For one or more sentences, the citation should be placed in the first sentence of the group of sentences that are being cited. This sentence should introduce the material that will be discussed in the upcoming sentences. The readers will then understand that the citation refers to all the material related to this leading sentence.

Example: The topic of cookies and their origins has been studied by John Smith (2009). Cookies are thought to have come from... They were originally used for...

Citing Multiple Sources for One or Multiple Sentences

•For multiple sources, only the information inside the parentheses changes. This is dependent on what type of citation style you are using.

Example: Childhood obesity is on the rise in America, creating a need for more nutrition education classes in grade schools (Smith, 2009; L. Johnson, 1998).