Citing Your Sources

Different disciplines have their own guidelines and styles for citations. Check with your instructor or publisher for the preferred style.

Did you know there are several tools you can use to make it easier to track and format your citations?
See Manage your citations.

Frequently asked questions

• How do I use MLA to cite sources?
• How do I cite images?
• How do I cite data and software (code)?
• How do I integrate quotations into my paper?
• What is self-plagiarism?
• How do I paraphrase correctly?

American Psychological Association (APA) (used in the social sciences)

• APA quick citation guide (Penn State University)
• OWL APA guide (Purdue University)

Chicago Manual of Style (used in history and some social sciences)

• Chicago Manual of Style Online, 17th ed. (requires NetID/password)
  Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (requires NetID/password)

Modern Language Association (MLA) (used in the humanities)

• MLA Handbook Plus (requires NetID/password)
• OWL MLA guide (Purdue University)

Check out the Online Writing Lab (OWL) from Purdue for a comprehensive guide.

Biology

• CSE quick citation guide (Penn State)

Chemistry

• ACS style guide (requires NetID/password)

Engineering

• IEEE style guide (University of Pittsburgh)
• IEEE guide (IEEE Standards Association)

Government Documents

• Citing government documents (Cornell University)

Journalism

• Associated Press Stylebook 2018 and Briefing on Media Law
• Associated Press Stylebook 2015 and Briefing on Media Law (ebook requires NetID/password)

Law

• Legal writing citation guide (Cornell University)

Medicine

• AMA citation guide (Oakland University)
• AMA Citation Style (Purdue Online Writing Lab)
• AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors

Sociology

• ASA citation guide (Purdue OWL)