Most instructors will require you to cite your sources of information (e.g., book, website, personal interview, article or video) in a bibliography or a works cited page, and for good reason. When you cite properly you:

• Acknowledge those whose ideas and writings you depended on
• Get credit for doing good research and using quality sources
• Demonstrate how well you back up your ideas
• Help readers verify your sources or read more about your topic
• Relate your writing and ideas to the larger community of people writing on your topic

There are many styles of writing citations, such as the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), American Medical Association (AMA), Chicago, and Turabian styles. Ask your instructors which style they prefer for your papers. The following are some great web resources on how to cite using different citation styles.

Note: When a full-text magazine/journal or news paper article from an online database is used, you usually need to include the date retrieved, name of the database, url of the database and sometimes the library you used to access the database. Examples can be found at the Duke University's citing sources guide.

For examples of MLA Style, 5th Edition, visit:

• Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format is a comprehensive explanation of using MLA style from Purdue University’s Writing Lab.  See the bottom of their Web page for examples of how to cite many types of sources, including music, TV shows and interviews.
• MLA Style Guide from the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg. Scroll to the bottom of this MLA Style Guide link for good examples of citing electronic resources in MLA.

Sample Citation for reprinted literary criticism:
(Example: Contemporary Literary Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, or Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism)

Presley, Delma Eugene. "The Search for Hope in the Plays of Tennessee Williams," Mississippi Quarterly, 25(1971), 31-43. rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism, vol. 111. Jeffrey W. Hunter ed. Detroit: Gale, 1999, 379-384.

For examples of APA Style, 5th Edition, visit:

• You may want to watch this short Video on APA style.
• Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format is a comprehensive explanation of using APA style from Purdue University's Writing Lab. See the bottom of their web page for examples of how to cite many types of sources, including music, TV shows and interviews.
• Examples of citing electronic resources in APA Style are available from APA Style.org.
  This site also contains an APA Style "tip of the week" section that is archived.

For Comparison examples of APA, MLA, Chicago and Turabian Styles, visit:

• Citing Sources from the Duke University Library.
• Citation Styles for Research Papers  from Long Island University Library, has a nice color coding feature for the elements of a citation in each style including AMA.

For the Original Guide to Electronic Source Citations, visit:

• Columbia Guide to Online Style: Focuses on citing online and electronic sources.  It presents a guide to locating, translating, and using the elements of citation for both a humanities style (i.e., MLA and Chicago) and a scientific style (APA and CBE) for electronically accessed sources.

Try these free citation composers to format you citations:

Warning! Citation writing software may have programming glitches, and if you put in the wrong information in the boxes provided you will get an inaccurate citation. Always check the final product and make the appropriate edits.  Also, be careful when saving your work at the online services server, they may loose your saved work.  Always save a backup copy on your own computer or disc.

• EasyBib offers a free online MLA bibliography composer.
• David Warlick’s Landmark-Project Citation Machine is a free online citation composer for MLA and APA styles.
• SourceAid is a free online citation formatting/management and research tool that requires an initial registration. You may choose from MLA, APA, CSE or Chicago styles.
• LOBO, the Library Online Basic Orientation at NC State offers a free online citation building tool.

This Research Guide was created on 5/04 by Lee Semmerling and updated on 12/14/05