English, Literature, & Writing: Citation Style Guides

It's important to cite sources you used in your research for several reasons:

• To show your reader you've done proper research by listing sources you used to get your information
• To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas
• To avoid plagiarism by quoting words and ideas used by other authors
• To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them accurately in your references, works cited, or bibliography page

You must cite:

• Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge including paraphrases, summaries, and direct quotations.
• Ideas, words, theories, or exact language that another person used in other publications or interviews.
• Publications that must be cited include books, book chapters, articles, web pages, films, reports, etc.

When in doubt, be safe and cite your source!

Citations have two components: in-text references & a Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) page. This guide will help you create both types of citations for MLA 8 & APA.