When you’re writing a research paper — or any kind of composition, or even a presentation that requires sources outside your own experience — citing your sources is important. This is what gives greater credibility to your original ideas and makes them carry more weight. You do this “in-text” — at the precise moment that you reference a resource in your paper — and in a works cited at the end of your work, so that readers know where the evidence you’re using to support your ideas is coming from. For specifics on what style to use for your particular assignment, always ask your professor. If you’d like assistance with citing, librarians are here to help — ask us! For more on the details of writing your paper, check out the Writing Center.
The Champlain College library has provided these helpful resources for figuring out how to cite sources according to different styles—and to sites that can help you create correct citations.
- Library
- LibGuides
- Cite Your Sources
- Cite Your Sources
Cite Your Sources
Find tools and examples for citing sources in your research projects using a variety of styles and formats. Your professor will tell you which style is most appropriate for your project or discipline. Have questions? Ask a librarian!
Books about Citations and Research
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by American Psychological Association StaffCall Number: REFERENCE BF76.7 .P83 2010ISBN: 9781433805592Publication Date: 2009-07-15
- The Bluebook by Columbia Law Review (Compiled by)Call Number: REFERENCE KF245 .U55 2005ISBN: 9780615361161Publication Date: 2010-05-02
- MLA Handbook, 8th Edition by The Modern Language Association of AmericaCall Number: REFERENCE PE1408 .G52 2016ISBN: 1603292624Publication Date: 2016-04-01
- The Chicago Manual of Style by University of Chicago Staff (Editor)Call Number: EBOOK PE1410 .U69 2010ISBN: 9780226104201Publication Date: 2010-08-01
Cite Your Sources
Why use citation styles?
In academic writing, there are a number of different citation styles that you might use when documenting your sources. Documentation helps you keep your research organized and assists your readers in recognizing the sources for your evidence. The style that you choose to deploy is dependent on factors including instructor expectations and your academic discipline.
This guide provides an overview of several of the major citation styled used in college writing. Click one of the tabs to the left to get started. If you are not sure which citation style you should use for an assignment, ask your instructor or a librarian.
Citation Management Tools
Cite better with some help from one of these online citation management tools:
- zoteroBib — Helps you build a bibliography instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software. Facilitates automatic creation of many citations and manual, guided entry of others.
- KnightCite — Just select your citation style and type of source, and KnightCite will prompt you to provide all of the information that you need for a complete, well-formatted citation.
- BibMe — Helps you to generate most MLA citations and APA citations. Be sure to check your citations for errors–automatic tools such as BibMe are not perfect.
- Zotero — Perhaps the most complicated tool of the four, but the most powerful once you are familiar with it. Zotero uses a browser extension to generate citations and save them for you to use later. To get the most out of the tool, you will want to download the free Zotero application to your personal computer.
Where do citation styles come from?
Citation styles referenced in this guide are derived from the following sources:
MLA (Modern Languages Association) Handbook, 8th Edition
APA (American Psychological Association) Publication Manual, 7th Edition
The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition
APA (American Psychological Association) Publication Manual, 6th Edition
- Last Updated: Jun 9, 2020 1:39 PM
- URL: https://subjectguides.champlain.edu/citation
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