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Cite It Right!

Citation information to be used with the Cite It Right - Got Research? workshops

Online Resources for Citation Help

Cite It Right!

What is a citation?

A citation is all the information about a given source organized according to a standard format or citation style guide.

MLA, APA and Chicago Style are used in classes at Oakton College.

Citations include information such as

  • author's name,
  • title of the book, article or website,
  • name of the magazine or journal,
  • date published or updated
  • if the information was found in print or online

Using citations gives credit to an author or creator for their research, writings and ideas.

Why Do I Need to Use Citations?

A citation is reliable way to lead your reader back to the materials you used in your research.

A citation gives credit to an author for their research, writings and ideas.

When you use citations you are

  • showing that you know how to use information well,
  • creating credibility for your paper by providing good quality sources and good quality citations for them.
  • giving credit to the authors of material you used,
  • avoiding plagiarism,
Length: 1:05

A URL is NOT a citation
 

Screen shot shows new york times article with URL crossed out

What do I include in a citation for an internet source?

MLA requires as much of the following information as possible:
      Author's name
      Title of the work
      Title of the website
      Name of the website sponsor
      Date of the most recent update
      Web (to show this is not a print source)
      Date of access (or the date you looked at the website)
APA requires as much of the following information as possible:
      Author's name
      Date of publication or update
      Title of the source
      URL  ("Retrieved from" followed by the url)  or
      DOI - Digital Object Identifier  - for online newspaper, magazine or journal articles.
CMS or Chicago Manual of Style requires as much of the following information as possible:
      Author's name
      Title of the work
      Title of the source
      Date of publication or update

      URL

Square box reads Cite it Right workshops. MLA, APA, Chicago, Zotero, Noodle Tools