One of the most important aspects of writing that anyone must familiarize themselves with before mastering the art is citing their sources. Whether you want to strengthen your argument or keep yourself from plagiarizing, you must let your audience know where you got your information from. While each style of formatting varies to some degree, there are certain pieces that are always expected in citations. Let’s go through it together.
Parts of a citation
- Title
- Author
- Date of Publication
- Publisher
- Year of Publication
- Place of Publication
- Editor
- Pages Used
- Date of Access
The citation for books is going to look a little different from a citation for a website. There are over 80 different types of recognized sources, and each one has its own set of expectations when it comes to being referenced. Make sure you don’t try to force them all into the same format.
Next, figure out what source style is required of you.
To make things even more complicated, there are many different types of citation styles, such as MLA, APA, and Chicago. After you know what type of source you have and what format style your professor requires, you’re ready to look up the specific standards for that source. You may want to consult the website of the format style before getting started.
Now, you’re ready to write your citation.
With everything in order, now you just have to go ahead with it. If you feel confused, don’t be afraid to ask your instructor or fellow classmates to make sure you’re doing the right thing. Some teachers will mark off points for improper citations. Here are some examples of source citations:
Carver, Raymond. What We Talk about When We Talk about Love: Stories. New York:
Knopf, 1981. Print.
Campbell, Christopher. "25 Movies to See After You Watch Goodfellas."Film School
Rejects. Film School Rejects, 18 Sept. 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York
Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.
Milken, Michael, Gary Becker, Myron Scholes, and Daniel Kahneman. "On Global
Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly 23.4 (2006):
63. Print.
When in doubt, look online.
There are many website that specialize in creating citations for students. You can go to a website such as EasyBib with your information, and they will format your works cited page for you. It doesn’t get much easier than that. Make sure you go over the references that it creates - even computers make mistakes sometimes. Also, not all of the information will be able to be found online, so you will have to provide some of the details that make up the citation.
