Citation Styles: Citation Styles

Most academic work draws upon the works of others; therefore, citing your sources is an important part of the scholarly writing process.

Citations include the key elements that allow your sources to be identified and located. These elements vary depending upon the type of resource.

There are several reasons to cite your sources:

• Give proper credit to the ideas, words, and works of others you use in your research

• Allow readers to find your sources - so they can determine if they are reliable, better evaluate your argument, and locate additional information

• Avoid plagiarism (see Georgia State University Academic Honesty Policy)

The specific format of your citations will depend upon the documentation style you are using. Different disciplines use different styles - check with your professor if you are unsure of which one to use.

Commonly used styles include APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian. Each of these has an official style guide. These manuals contain detailed examples on citing a wide variety of sources. In addition, they contain information about proper formatting such as margin and font size.

For most styles, you cite your sources in two places:

1) Within your paper - Immediately after using a source, include a parenthetical citation, footnote or endnote.

2) At the end of your paper - Assemble a complete list of your sources. This is knows as a "Bibliography," "Reference List" or "Works Cited" section.

A citation describes a source by presenting information about that source (book, article, web page, etc.) in a standard format. It tells:

• Who wrote it - the author and/or editor

• What was written - the title

• By whom - the publisher; the journal name; or the host of the web page

• When - the date of publication

Article Citation Example (APA)

González-Ramírez, M. T., Landero-Hernández, R. & Vanegas-Farfano, M. The effects of dog-owner relationships on perceived stress and happiness. Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin. 6(2), 44-57. 

Book Citation Example (Chicago/Turabian)

Tritle, Lawrence. The Peloponnesian War. Greenwood, 2004. 

Website Citation Example (MLA)

"Citation Styles." Georgia State University Library, 2025, https://research.library.gsu.edu/citationstyles. Accessed May 13, 2025.

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