Rhetoric and Composition/Citation

Overview

Citations

Purpose
- Avoid plagiarism
- Enable verification
Location
- In-text or parenthetical
- Bibliography
Style
- MLA
  - Title for bibliography: Works Cited
  - In-text – example: (Goodview 98)
- APA
  - Title for bibliography: References
  - In-text – example: (Goodview, 1998, p. 98)

Any time you use in your paper information that you paraphrase, summarize, or quote from another source, you must give the author or the publication proper credit. Failure to do so is considered plagiarism.

Plagiarism can be avoided by using parenthetical citations alias in-text citations within the text of your paper or essay and by using a bibliography (a list of your sources) at the end of your paper or essay.

To do:
Are parenthetical citations the same as in-text citations? Is "[1]" and "[BEQ78]" a parenthetical citation or only an in-text citation? That should be clarified.

The specific details of how to cite sources are prescribed in various citation styles. One of the most common writing systems in the educational systems is The Modern Language Association (MLA) style of writing. Most students learn first how to write using the MLA format in elementary school. Another very common writing system frequently used by the social sciences is the American Psychological Association (APA) format. MLA was updated for its eighth edition in 2016 to make citing online sources more accessible.

In MLA the bibliography is titled "Works Cited," and in APA the list is titled "References."

APA Essay Format

APA style is commonly used within the social sciences. When writing in APA you must follow these basic guidelines:
1. Typed with standard double space
2. Paper size 8.5" x 11"
3. 1" margins on all sides
4. 12 pt. Times New Roman Font (recommended)
5. You must insert a running head (page header) on the top of every page
6. Page Numbers
7. Your paper should consist of at least four sections: Cover page, Abstract, Main Body and a References Page

If you have further questions please visit the Purdue OWL

Cover Page

In your cover page you must include the following information:
1. Running Head on the top of the page (page header) which should be the tittle of your essay in capital letters (preferably spelled correctly), or a shorter version if the title is too long
Ex. Running Head: TITLE OF YOUR GANG
2. In double-space, type the title of your essay in the upper half of the page, with all letters centered.
3. The write the author's name starting with first, middle initials, and last name. No personal titles should be included
Ex. Paulo Coelho
4. Lastly, you must include the educational institution you belong to
Ex. Saint Cloud State University

Please visit the Purdue OWLto see a sample of a cover page

Abstract

Your abstract is a brief and insightful summary of the research you have conducted.

Page Format

As with the rest of the essay pages, this page must contain the running head. This should be automatically added to all the essay pages.
Then, type the Abstract in the center of the page. No formatting should be done to this title. Then, your abstract should be a double-spaced, one paragraph with around 150 to 250 words. Lastly, this page must have a page number, which should be number 2, as it comes right after the cover page.

See Abstract Page Sample

Content

Your abstract should include the following points:
1. Research topic
2. Research questions
3. Participants
4. Methods
5. Results
6. Data analysis
7. Conclusions

Visit the Purdue OWL to see a sample

Reference Page

To cite your sources in APA format, you do this on your References page. To write your References page, follow the steps below.

1. Start a new page for your list, and center the word "References" at the top of the page. There is no need to format the words any different than the rest of your text, so don't waste your time by underlining, italicizing, or making them bold.
2. Number this page in continuation of the pages in your essay or research work.
3. Start each entry flush with the left margin. Indent any subsequent lines 1/2 inch, and double space the entries like the rest of your paper.
4. Alphabetize your sources by the author's last name and first initial, or by using the information provided below. If there is more than one author, list the first author by the last name first, followed by the first name initial, then for all others list the first initial first, followed by the last name, and separate by commas.
5. In dealing with the titles of all books, articles, or webpages, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and all proper nouns.
6. Capitalize all major words in journal titles.
7. Italicize or underline book and journal titles. (Be consistent, always italicize, or always underline, but never use both.)
8. Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.

Books
a. Author - List author by last name, (comma) first name initial. If there are more than six authors, list the first author and first initial followed by "et al."
b. Year of publication in parenthesis.
c. Title - Underline or italicize the title and subtitle. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns.
d. Publication Information - Provide the city of publication and the state code if the city is unfamiliar, followed by a : (colon)- a space and the shortened version of the publisher's name.

Creakly, P. (2008). Whatever you said is true: Unless you are lying. New York: Penguin.

Journal article - by issue
a. Author - List author by last name, (comma) first name initial. If there are more than six authors, list the first author and first initial followed by "et al."
b. Year of publication in parenthesis. c. Title of the article - No underling, italics, or quotes are used. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns.
d. Title of the journal/periodical- Italicized or underlined. Capitalize the first letter of all words. e. Volume number(issue number), pages- The volume number and issue number are italicized.

Treasure, J. C., S. Kuepers, & J. Edward. (2000). How to determine whether people are lying to you by watching their eyes. Human Behavior, 22(16), 24-64.

Website
a. Authors name (if known) last name followed by first initial.
b. Year of publication in parenthesis.
c. Title of webpage document. Only capitalize the first letter of the first word.
d. Provide the date your retrieved it, listed in order by the month and day followed by a comma, then year followed by a comma.
e. Include the web address you retrieved if from. Do not end with a period.

Wertjes, A. (2007). Facts on finding truth. Retrieved January 21, 2008, from http://freedinformationforall.com

References Page Sample

References
Creakly, P. (2008). Whatever you said is true: Unless you are lying. New York:Penguin.

Tresure, J. C., S. Kuepers, & J. Edward. (2000). How to determine whether people are
 
---. lying to you by watching their eyes. Human Behavior, 22(16), 24-64.

Wertjes, A. (2007). Facts on finding truth. Retrieved January 21, 2008, from
 
---.  http://freedinformationforall.com

References page example.

Citing Outside Sources In-Text

Your in-text citations should correspond to the first item listed in your bibliographic citations, which is usually the author's last name. For example, if the in-text citation looks like this:

In a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (Booth 216).
Example of an MLA parenthetical citation.

Then by going to the bibliography page and looking down the list of sources, the name "Booth" should start the citation. For example,

Works Cited
Booth, Fredrick. The Effect of Hemingway on Alaska. 
Wilmington UP, 1998.

Example from MLA Works Cited page.

Parenthetical Citations

Parenthetical Citations serve to inform your reader of where you found the data or quotation you are providing to them. Generally, in MLA, if you are citing more than one source, you should include the author's or editor's name and the page number in your parenthetical citation. For example: (Jones 127). If you are only using a single source which is already identified elsewhere in the text, simply use the page number. The eighth edition of MLA did little to change the mechanics of in-text citations. The information required is still only author and page number

MLA Examples

MLA Parenthetical (or In-Text) Citation Examples:

Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. In a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (Booth 216).  Later that year, Hemingway went on to request, and to be granted, an audience with the President where he shared a multitude of research against drilling (Goodview 98).  Hemingway, along with countless other supporters, continued to call upon legislators from both sides of the aisle until the idea of Alaskan oil exploration was naught, or so they thought.  "It is a victory for all the inhabitants of the earth that the State of Alaska's natural beauty, wonder, and habitat will remain unharmed by human greed so that our children and grandchildren and generations after them will be able to catch a glimpse of an unspoiled planet" (Chandler 143).  The idea of an unspoiled planet was, unfortunately, relatively short lived.
An example of MLA parenthetical citations.

You may also mention the author's name within the text rather than in a parenthetical citation.

Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. According to Booth, in a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (216).  Goodview reports that later that year Hemingway went on to request, and to be granted, an audience with the President where he shared a multitude of research against drilling (98).
An example of MLA parenthetical citations.

If a source has two authors, mention both names within the text, or in a parenthetical citation, separated by "and."

Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. According to Booth and Goodview, in a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (216). Later that year Hemingway went on to request, and to be granted, an audience with the President where he shared a multitude of research against drilling (Goodview and Smith 98).
An example of MLA parenthetical citations.

If your source has three or more authors, use only the first author's last name followed by "et al."

Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. According to Booth et al., in a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (216). Later that year Hemingway went on to request, and to be granted, an audience with the President where he shared a multitude of research against drilling (Goodview et al. 98).
An example of MLA parenthetical citations.

More detailed information regarding MLA in-text citations can be found at The Owl, Purdue's online writing guide, which has the most up-to-date information on the changes from the seventh to the eighth edition of MLA, and at Literacy Education Online (LEO), St. Cloud State University's online writing guide.

APA Examples

APA Parenthetical (or In-Text) Citation Examples:

In APA format, you also include the author's name in parenthetical citations; however, whenever you use the author's name in APA, you must also include the date of the publication.

Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. In a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (Booth, 2000, p. 216).  Later that year, Hemingway went on to request, and to be granted, an audience with the President where he shared a multitude of research against drilling (Goodview, 1998, p. 98).  Hemingway, along with countless other supporters, continued to call upon legislators from both sides of the aisle until the idea of Alaskan oil exploration was naught, or so they thought.  "It is a victory for all the inhabitants of the earth that the State of Alaska's natural beauty, wonder, and habitat will remain unharmed by human greed so that our children and grandchildren and generations after them will be able to catch a glimpse of an unspoiled planet" (Chandler, 1985, p. 143).  The idea of an unspoiled planet was, unfortunately, relatively short lived.
An example of APA parenthetical citations.

You may also mention the author's name within the text.

According to Booth (2000), Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. In a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (p. 216). Goodview (1998) notes that Later that year Hemingway went on to request, and to be granted, an audience with the President where he shared a multitude of research against drilling (p. 98).  Hemingway, along with countless other supporters, continued to call upon legislators from both sides of the aisle until the idea of Alaskan oil exploration was naught, or so they thought.  One of these members is quoted by Chandler (1998) as saying of this time, "It is a victory for all the inhabitants of the earth that the State of Alaska's natural beauty, wonder, and habitat will remain unharmed by human greed so that our children and grandchildren and generations after them will be able to catch a glimpse of an unspoiled planet" (p. 143).  The idea of an unspoiled planet was, unfortunately, relatively short lived.
An example of APA parenthetical citations.

If you need to cite two authors of the same work who are mentioned within the text, use both their last names and separate it with "and."

According to Chandler and Goodview (2004), Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. In a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (p. 216).
An example of APA parenthetical citations.

If you do not mention the two author's names within the text, you do so in parenthesis using an ampersand instead of the word "and."

Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. In a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (Chandler & Goodview, 2004, p. 216).
An example of APA parenthetical citations.

If you have three to five authors, list them all by last name the first time you mention them in the text. Thereafter, only use the first author's last name followed by "et al."

According to Chandler, Goodview, and Petty (2004), Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. In a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (p. 216). Chandler et al. (2004) also noted that...
An example of APA parenthetical citations.

If you mention the authors in parenthetical citations instead of within the text, follow the same guidelines as noted above.

Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life. In a 1949 visit to members of Congress, Hemingway repeatedly reported of the natural beauty that would be destroyed by exploring for oil in Alaska (Chandler, Goodview & Petty, 2004, p. 216). Later that year Hemingway went on to request, and to be granted, an audience with the President where he shared a multitude of research against drilling (Goodview, 1998, p. 98).  Hemingway, along with countless other supporters, continued to call upon legislators from both sides of the aisle until the idea of Alaskan oil exploration was naught, or so they thought. "It is a victory for all the inhabitants of the earth that the State of Alaska's natural beauty, wonder, and habitat will remain unharmed by human greed so that our children and grandchildren and generations after them will be able to catch a glimpse of an unspoiled planet" (Chandler et al., 2004, p. 143).  The idea of an unspoiled planet was, unfortunately, relatively short lived.
An example of APA parenthetical citations.

If you have six or more authors, list only the first author's last name followed by "et al."

According to Chandler et al. (2007), Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life.
An example of APA parenthetical citations.

If you do not know the author's name, use a portion of the article or book title instead. Titles of articles are placed within quotes. Book and report titles are italicized or underlined. (Note that in APA only the first word of an article title is capitalized.)

Hemingway's arguments against oil drilling in Alaska continued to intensify in his later life ("Hemingway's battle for Alaska," 2001).
An example of APA parenthetical citations.

For more information on APA in-text citations, see The Owl Purdue's online writing guide for APA citations or LEO St. Cloud State University's online writing guide for APA citations

Citing Outside Sources in a Bibliography

While parenthetical in-text citations already indicate the sources of the information, a full identification of the cited sources is required to make it possible for the reader to unambiguously locate the source in a library or on the internet. The list of fully identified sources usually goes at the end of your paper, into a bibliography section. A full identification of a source usually includes the year of publication, the authors, the title of the work, the publishing organization, and more. The information included in the full identification of a source varies with the publication style such as MLA style and APA style.

MLA Works Cited

In MLA, you do this on your Works Cited page. To write your MLA works cited list, follow the steps below.

1. Start a new page for your list, and center the words "Works Cited" at the top of the page. There is no need to format the words any different than the rest of your text, so don't waste your time by underlining, italicizing, or making them bold.
2. Number this page in continuation of the pages in your essay or research work.
3. Start each entry flush with the left margin. Indent any subsequent lines five (5) spaces.
4. Alphabetize your sources by the author's last name or by using the information provided below.

Basic Information Required Under MLA 8th Edition.

Author
Title
Title of Container (Self-contained if in a book)
Other Contributors (Editors or Translators)
Version (Edition)
Number (Volume and/or Number)
Publisher
Publication Date
Location (Pages, Paragraphs, DOI, or URL)
2nd Container's title
Other Contributors
Version
Number
Publisher
Publication
Publication Date
Location
Date of Access (if applicable)

Note all of these elements may not be within a given citation, but this is the prescribed order for them to appear in a citation.

Books - one author
a. Author - List author by last name, (comma) first name.
b. Title - Italicize title and subtitle. Capitalize any major words even if not officially capitalized in the book's title.
c. Publication Information - The city of publication is no longer required under the eighth edition guidelines for MLA; just provide the publisher's name (an MLA-spproved shortened, accepted version of the publisher name may be used). (Penguin for The Penguin Press - a , (comma) is required and the year of publication.

Johnson, Steven. Everything Bad is Good for You. Penguin, 2005.
Relating that the source is a print source is no longer required in MLA's 8th edition.

Books - two authors
a. Authors - List the first author last name first. Then list the name of the second author in normal order, with a , (comma) between the names and a ,and (comma and) before the last author.
b. Follow the remaining steps as you would with one author.

Caldwell, Ian, and Dustin Thomason. The Rule of Four. The Dial Press, 2004.

Books - three or more authors
a. Authors - Give the first author listed on the title page, followed by a , (comma) and "et al."
b. Follow the remaining steps as you would with one author.

Pilot, John, et al. A Lifetime of Success. Grey Wolf, 2005.

Books - corporate author a. Give the name of the group listed on the title page as the author even if the same group published the book.
b. Follow the remaining steps as you would with one author.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Dealing with MS: a Guide for the Newly Diagnosed. National Multiple Sclerosis Soc., 2000.

Books - unknown author
a. Start the entry with the title, and list alphabetically by the first major word of the title.
b. Follow the remaining steps as you would with one author.

Time Life Treasury of Letters. Harvard UP, 1976.

Books - two or more by the same author(s)
a. Arrange entries alphabetically by title.
b. List the name(s) of the author(s) in the first entry, but in subsequent entries, us three hyphens followed by a period.
Tims, James. What Went Right for Democrats in 2004. Wave, 2004.
---. What Went Wrong for Republicans in 2004. Wave, 2004.

Books - editor or editors
a. Treat as you would another source, and after author and title add the editor after this and include "edited by.".
b. Follow the remaining steps as you would for a regular book source..

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Edited by Margaret Smith, Oxford UP, 1998.
Example used from Purdue Owl for MLA webpage.

Website
The following list is the order to list information from an online source. a. Author and/or editor names (if available) b. Article name in quotation marks. c. Title of the website, project, or book in italics. d. Any version numbers available, including editions (ed.), revisions, posting dates, volumes (vol.), or issue numbers (no.). e. Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date. f. Take note of any page numbers (p. or pp.) or paragraph numbers (par. or pars.). g. URL (without the https://) DOI or permalink. h. Date you accessed the material (Date Accessed). Note-- Remember to cite containers after your regular citation. Examples of containers are collections of short stories or poems, a television series, or even a website. A container is anything that is a part of a larger body of works.
Schanaansberg, Arthur. "Hurricane Katrina 2005". What is Happening as a Result of the Greenhouse Effect. November 6, 2005. www.en.geowarming.org/recent_disasters.

Works Cited Example

Works Cited

Allyn, Fredrick. The Effect of Monopolies on Economies Throughout the World.Wilmington UP, 1998.

Collier, Sally, et al. Capitalism: the Good and the Bad. Barton, 2003.

Fey, C. Jean, editor. The New Deal Today.Wisconsin UP, 2004.

Rogers, Kent. "Do We Really Want to Raise the Minimum Wage." Economic Realities in Today's Global Economy.2005. www.//warathome.org/soundpolicies/review.
Tift, Mary. How Did We Get Here: Economic Analysis of Carter through G.W..Dunkday, 2005.

Urbanski, Jenny and Helen Carter. How We Continue CompetingTribune, 2003.
Works Cited page example.

More Examples on Formatting Bibliographies

See The Owl or LEO. n