When you write a research paper, you will start by reading the research that others have done before you. In your paper you will mention (or "cite") the sources you have consulted. At the end of your paper you will include a bibliography or works cited section, an alphabetical list of citations that contain all the information that readers will need to locate these resources for themselves.
In order to provide a consistent format to your citations, you will use one of several popular standard citation styles. Check with your instructors to find out which style they want you to use.
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is used by most English and humanities classes at UMM; the American Psychological Association (APA) style is used by many psychology and social science classes; another style preferred by some instructors is the University of Chicago (Chicago or Turabian) style, and finally The CSE, Council of Science Editors Style, is used in the sciences.
MLA Handbook
by
The Modern Language Association, the authority on research and writing, takes a fresh look at documenting sources in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, the official guide to MLA format. Works are published today in a dizzying variety of ways: a novel, for example, may be read in print, online, or as an e-book--or perhaps listened to as an audiobook. Writers of research papers routinely need to know how to cite works on Web sites, videos on platforms like YouTube, interviews and other works created by multiple authors, journal articles contained in databases, online images, posts on social media sites, song lyrics, and more. Instead of providing separate instructions for each format, the MLA's unique, innovative approach recommends one set of guidelines that writers can apply to any type of source. This groundbreaking edition of the MLA's best-selling handbook is short and designed for easy use. It guides writers through the principles behind evaluating sources for their research and thus focuses on the key skills of information and digital literacy. It then shows writers how to cite sources in their writing, offering detailed guidance on in-text citations, quoting and paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism, and more. Intended for students, teachers, librarians, and advanced scholars, the handbook is an indispensable resource in composition, communication, literature, language arts, film, media studies, digital humanities, and related fields.
The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 8th ed. provides detailed information on citing sources in a variety of formats. Consult the print version of the handbook available at the Merrill Library.
This site, The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University, offers a helpful overview of MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE citation styles with examples. Watch these videos created by the staff at the Online Writing Lab at Purdue - OWL at Purdue.