Writing and Presenting
Primary Research Paper

References and Citations

Complete & Continue Next Lesson Learn More

APA

In-Text

  • (Last Name, Date Published)

    • (Sarah, 2016)

    • In her survey, Sarah (2016) found that…

  • (Last Names, Date Published)

    • (Yune & Lime, 2016)

    • Yune and Lime (2016) note that…

  • (Last Name et al. Date Published)

    • (Esther et al., 2016)

    • Similarly, Esther et al (2016) suggests…

  • 1st Time: (Org Name, Date)

    2nd Time: (Abbreviated Name, Date)

    • The American Medical Association (2019) notes that…

    • (AMA, 2019)

  • See Perdue Owl

Citation Page

  • With Author: Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

    Without Author: Name of Organization. (Publication Date). Title of webpage. URL

  • Author, F. M., (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, Volume(Issue), page range. DOI

    Smith, J. A., (2020). Understanding the social dynamics of urbanization. Journal of Urban Studies, 25(3), 123-145. https://doi/200202

  • Author, F. M. (Year). Title of the book (Edition, if applicable). Publisher.

    Green, S. M., & Black, T. J. (2021). Advances in neuroscience research (3rd ed.). Academic Books.

  • Images: Photographer, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Title of the image [Photograph]. Source. URL

    Film: Director, F. M. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Film]. Production company.

    Youtube Video: Person or organization who uploaded video. (Date of publication). Title of video[Video]. Website host. URL 

    Visual From Article: Additional information to clarify the content in the image. From or based on "Title of Article," by Author's Initials and Last Name, Year, published in Journal Title, Volume(Issue), page number (URL or DOI for online sources). Copyright Year by Copyright Holder (or specify if it’s in the public domain or under a Creative Commons license).

  • See Perdue Owl

Rules for References Page

  • Title: Label the page "References" (without quotes) at the top, centered, and in bold.

  • Spacing: Double-space the entire page, including entries.

  • Hanging Indent: Each reference should use a hanging indent, where the first line is flush left, and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.

  • Alphabetical Order: List references alphabetically by the last name of the first author.

MLA

In-Text

  • (Name Page) or (Page)

    • Bugs defined as “a thing that crawls around and buzzes”(Shino 220).

    • In his essay on bug collecting, Shino suggests that “there are a variety that can be used to track down different animal types”(154).

  • (Name and Name Page) or (Page)

    • The two writers note that “there are many ways to gather materials for a book, but lived experience seems to work best” (Sai and Shin 23).

    • Sai and Shin argue that crop tops are the best clothing to wear for exercise (29).

  • If citing an author in a collection, cite the author of the piece you are reading. For example, if you are reading The Hills, by Grady Hiem in a collection. Grady would be your author.

    • The possible implications of rolling down hills are more than just fun and games (Grady 140).

  • (Name of Organization)

    There are many cats that suffer from lack of sunbeam disease and three out of four cats don’t have enough sunbeam per day (American Vet Association).

  • See Perdue Owl

  • One Author

    • Last Name, First Name. “Title of Page.” Title of Site, Publisher [if different from website title or author], Date of Publication, URL.

    Organization

    • “Title of Page.” Title of Site, Sponsor or Publisher, Date of Publication, URL.

  • From A Journal

    • Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages.

    From A Website

    • Author(s). "Title of the Article." Title of the Web Magazine, Publisher, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Day Month Year.

    • Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

    **When a book has two or more authors, order them in the same way they are ordered in the book.

  • Image

    • Artist's Name. Title of the Artwork. Date of composition, Name of the Institution, Location (if not included in the institution's name).

    Film

    • Title of the Film. Directed by Director's Name, performances by Performer(s) (if relevant), Film Studio or Distributor, Release Year.

    Online Video

    • Author. "Title of the Video." Platform, uploaded by Uploader, Date of Upload, URL.

  • See Perdue Owl

Citation Page

Rules for Works Cited Page

Title: Label the page Works Cited, centered at the top (without bold, italics, or quotation marks).

Spacing: Double-space the entire page, including within and between entries.

Hanging Indent: Each entry should use a hanging indent, where the first line is flush left, and all subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.

Alphabetical Order: List entries alphabetically by the last name of the first author. If no author is available, use the title of the work (ignoring articles like "A," "An," or "The").