Note that when you do this with an online source, you should still include an access date, as in the example.
When a source lacks a clearly identified author, there’s often an appropriate corporate source – the organisation responsible for the source – whom you can credit as author instead, as in the Google and Wikipedia examples above.
When that’s not the case, you can just replace it with the title of the source in both the in-text citation and the reference list:
In-text citation | (‘Divest’, no date) |
Reference list entry | ‘Divest’ (no date) Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divest (Accessed: 27 January 2020). |
Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.
Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.
Harvard style | Vancouver style | |
---|---|---|
In-text citation | Each referencing style has different rules (Pears and Shields, 2019). | Each referencing style has different rules (1). |
Reference list | Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2019). . 11th edn. London: MacMillan. | 1. Pears R, Shields G. Cite them right: The essential referencing guide. 11th ed. London: MacMillan; 2019. |
A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.
The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.
In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’
In-text citation | Reference list | |
---|---|---|
1 author | (Smith, 2014) | Smith, T. (2014) … |
2 authors | (Smith and Jones, 2014) | Smith, T. and Jones, F. (2014) … |
3 authors | (Smith, Jones and Davies, 2014) | Smith, T., Jones, F. and Davies, S. (2014) … |
4+ authors | (Smith , 2014) | Smith, T. (2014) … |
Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2023, September 15). A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 21 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/
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The number of sources you cite in your paper depends on the purpose of your work. For most papers, cite one or two of the most representative sources for each key point. Literature review papers, however, typically include a more exhaustive list of references.
Provide appropriate credit to the source (e.g., by using an in-text citation) whenever you do the following:
Avoid both undercitation and overcitation. Undercitation can lead to plagiarism and/or self-plagiarism . Overcitation can be distracting and is unnecessary.
For example, it is considered overcitation to repeat the same citation in every sentence when the source and topic have not changed. Instead, when paraphrasing a key point in more than one sentence within a paragraph, cite the source in the first sentence in which it is relevant and do not repeat the citation in subsequent sentences as long as the source remains clear and unchanged.
Figure 8.1 in Chapter 8 of the Publication Manual provides an example of an appropriate level of citation.
Determining the appropriate level of citation is covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 8.1 and the Concise Guide Section 8.1
How to cite your own translations
If you translate a passage from one language into another on your own in your paper, your translation is considered a paraphrase, not a direct quotation.
Key takeaways from the Psi Chi webinar So You Need to Write a Literature Review
This blog post describes key tasks in writing an effective literature review and provides strategies for approaching those tasks.
How to cite a work with a nonrecoverable source
In most cases, nonrecoverable sources such as personal emails, nonarchived social media livestreams (or deleted and unarchived social media posts), classroom lectures, unrecorded webinars or presentations, and intranet sources should be cited only in the text as personal communications.
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The “outdated sources” myth is that sources must have been published recently, such as the last 5 to 10 years. There is no timeliness requirement in APA Style.
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The guidance in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual makes the process of citing contemporary sources found online easier than ever before.
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A classical or religious work is cited as either a book or a webpage, depending on what version of the source you are using. This post includes details and examples.
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Attend the webinar, “Citing Works in Text Using Seventh Edition APA Style,” on July 14, 2020, to learn the keys to accurately and consistently citing sources in APA Style.
In-Text Citations (see pages 54 - 58, 116 - 128 of the MLA Handbook, 8th Edition)
In the body of your paper, use parenthetical documentation (Chapter 5 of MLA Handbook ). The purpose of your documentation is for your readers to be able to locate the sources which you cite in your text when they look at your bibliography ("Works Cited") located at the end of your paper. You give the minimum of information necessary for your readers to do this, such as just the author's last name and the page(s) to which you refer.
This point has already been argued (Tannen 178-85).
Tannen has argued this point (178-85).
Shakespeare's King Lear has been called a "comedy of the grotesque" (Frye, Anatomy 237).
Others hold the opposite point of view (e.g., Kerrigan and Braden 210-15).
A New York Times editorial called Ralph Ellison "a writer of universal reach" ("Death").
There is little evidence here for the claim that "Eagleton has belittled the gains of postmodernism" (Chan, par.41).
"As we read we . . . construct the terrain of a book" (Hollmichel), something that is more difficult when the text reflows on a screen.
Austen begins the final chapter of Mansfield Park with a dismissive "Let other pens dwell," thereby announcing her decision to avoid dwelling on the professions of love made by Fanny and Edmund (533; vol.3, ch.17).
Buffy's promise that "there's not going to be incidents like at my old school" is obviously not one on which she can follow through ("Buffy" 00:03:16-17).
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Note: This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. The equivalent APA 7 page can be found here .
Reference citations in text are covered on pages 169-179 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.
Note: On pages 65-66, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998) finds ).
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference. All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
( Note: in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: Writing new media .)
If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?
If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.
Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)
If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required).
According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).
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Because academic writing is primarily about creating and sharing knowledge, there is a straightforward way to organize your paragraphs that helps convey the most important information easily. It also helps to make clear your critical thinking for your professor.
There are various ways to organize an academic paragraph, but here is a basic acronym you can follow to help you structure your writing at the paragraph level: M.E.A.L.
The first sentence of your paragraph states the main point of the paragraph and often connects back to the paper’s thesis.
For example:
A second theme that emerges from the sources is .
These sentences use quotations, paraphrases, statistics, examples, and/or illustrations to develop and support the main point of your paragraph.
XX write that, “ ” (citation).
These sentences express your views on the evidence and show why the evidence is significant or important for the main point of the paragraph.
In other words, XX helps us see that .
This final sentence mirrors the main point sentence and restates the main point of the paragraph.
In sum, by stating these arguments, these sources highlight [the theme].
M: A second theme that emerges from the sources is . E: XX write that, “ ” (citation). A: In other words, the is important for . E: Similarly, YY addresses the same theme when they write, “ ” (citation). A: What they help us see here is . E: Further, both sources offer insights on [the theme] by arguing that . L: In sum, by stating these arguments, these sources highlight [the theme].
By using the M.E.A.L acronym to structure your academic paragraph you ensure that your main point is clearly stated, your analysis effectively supported, and your critical thinking made visible for your professor.
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Published on February 26, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.
To cite a book, you need a brief in-text citation and a corresponding reference listing the author’s name, the title, the year of publication, and the publisher. The order and format of information depends on the citation style you’re using. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago style .
Use the interactive example generator to explore the format of book citations in MLA and APA.
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Citing a book in mla style, citing a book in apa style, citing a book in chicago style, where to find source information in a book, frequently asked questions about citations.
An MLA book citation includes the author’s name , the book title (in italics, capitalized headline-style), the edition (if specified), the publisher, and the year of publication. If it’s an e-book , write “e-book” (or a more specific description, e.g. “Kindle ed.”) before the publisher name.
The corresponding in-text citation lists the author’s last name and the page number of the passage cited.
MLA format | Author last name, First name. : Subtitle. Edition, Publisher, Year. |
---|---|
Donaldson, Bruce. . 3rd ed., Routledge, 2017. | |
(Donaldson 73) |
You can also use our free MLA Citation Generator to create your book citations.
Citing a book chapter in mla.
To cite a book chapter , first give the author and title (in quotation marks) of the chapter cited, then information about the book as a whole and the page range of the specific chapter.
The in-text citation lists the author of the chapter and the page number of the relevant passage.
MLA format | Author last name, First name. “Chapter Title.” : Subtitle, edited by Editor name, Publisher, Year, pp. Page range. |
---|---|
Nussbaum, Martha C. “Legal Reasoning.” , edited by John Tasioulas, Cambridge University Press, 2020, pp. 59–77. | |
(Nussbaum 65) |
The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:
An APA Style book citation lists the author’s last name and initials, the year of publication, the title and any subtitle (in italics, capitalizing only the first word), the edition (if specified), and the publisher. Add a DOI or URL to the end of the entry if available (e.g. for e-books or books accessed online ).
In an in-text citation, state the author’s last name and the publication year, and a page number if you need to show the location of a specific quote or paraphrase .
APA format | Author last name, Initials. (Year). : Subtitle (Edition). Publisher. DOI or URL |
---|---|
Donaldson, B. (2017). (3rd ed.). Routledge. | |
(Donaldson, 2017, p. 73) |
You can also use our free APA Citation Generator to automatically generate your book citations. Search for a title, DOI, or ISBN to retrieve the details.
Citing a book chapter in apa.
To cite a book chapter , list information about the chapter first, followed by information about the book, including the book’s editor(s) and the chapter’s page range within the book.
The author of the chapter, not the editor of the book, is listed in the in-text citation.
APA format | Author last name, Initials. (Year). Title of chapter. In Editor initials. Last name (Ed. or Eds.), : Subtitle (pp. Page range). Publisher. |
---|---|
Nussbaum, M. C. (2020). Legal reasoning. In Tasioulas, J. (Ed.), (pp. 59–77). Cambridge University Press. | |
(Nussbaum, 2020, p. 65) |
Chicago notes and bibliography style uses footnotes to cite sources instead of parenthetical citations. These notes refer to a bibliography at the end giving full source details.
A Chicago bibliography entry for a book includes the author’s name, the book title and subtitle, the edition (if stated), the location and name of the publisher, and the year of publication. For an e-book , add the e-book format (e.g. “Kindle”) at the end.
Chicago format | Author last name, First name. : Subtitle. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Year. E-book format. |
---|---|
Donaldson, Bruce. . 3rd ed. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2017. | |
1. Bruce Donaldson, , 3rd ed. (Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2017), 35. 2. Donaldson, , 73. |
Chicago also has an alternative style, Chicago author-date . You can see examples of book citations in this style here .
To cite a book chapter , start with the author and the title of the chapter (in quotation marks), then give the title (in italics) and editor of the book, the page range of the chapter, the location and name of the publisher, and the year of publication.
Chicago format | Author last name, First name. “Chapter Title.” In : Subtitle, edited by Editor first name Last name, Page range. Place of publication: Publisher, Year. |
---|---|
Nussbaum, Martha C. “Legal Reasoning.” In , edited by John Tasioulas, 59–77. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. | |
1. Martha C. Nussbaum, “Legal Reasoning,” in , ed. John Tasioulas (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 60. 2. Nussbaum, “Legal Reasoning,” 65. |
All the information you need for a book citation can usually be found on the book’s title page and copyright page. The main things you’re looking for are:
You should also check if the book specifies an edition (e.g. 2nd edition, revised edition) and if any other contributors are named (e.g. editor, translator).
The image below shows where to find the relevant information on the title and copyright pages of a typical book.
The main elements included in all book citations across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the author, the title, the year of publication, and the name of the publisher. A page number is also included in in-text citations to highlight the specific passage cited.
In Chicago style and in the 6th edition of APA Style , the location of the publisher is also included, e.g. London: Penguin.
When a book’s chapters are written by different authors, you should cite the specific chapter you are referring to.
When all the chapters are written by the same author (or group of authors), you should usually cite the entire book, but some styles include exceptions to this.
Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.
Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.
The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.
The abbreviation “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”) is used to shorten citations of sources with multiple authors.
“Et al.” is used in APA in-text citations of sources with 3+ authors, e.g. (Smith et al., 2019). It is not used in APA reference entries .
Use “et al.” for 3+ authors in MLA in-text citations and Works Cited entries.
Use “et al.” for 4+ authors in a Chicago in-text citation , and for 10+ authors in a Chicago bibliography entry.
When you want to cite a specific passage in a source without page numbers (e.g. an e-book or website ), all the main citation styles recommend using an alternate locator in your in-text citation . You might use a heading or chapter number, e.g. (Smith, 2016, ch. 1)
In APA Style , you can count the paragraph numbers in a text to identify a location by paragraph number. MLA and Chicago recommend that you only use paragraph numbers if they’re explicitly marked in the text.
For audiovisual sources (e.g. videos ), all styles recommend using a timestamp to show a specific point in the video when relevant.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to Cite a Book | APA, MLA, & Chicago Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 21, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/cite-a-book/
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When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays, research papers, and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises). Add a citation whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.
Think of your paper broken up into paragraphs. When you start a paragraph, the first time you add a sentence that has been paraphrased from a reference -> that's when you need to add an in-text citation. ... Parenthetical citation: Research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the ...
APA Style provides guidelines to help writers determine the appropriate level of citation and how to avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism. We also provide specific guidance for in-text citation, including formats for interviews, classroom and intranet sources, and personal communications; in-text citations in general; and paraphrases and direct quotations.
It is possible to cite a specific part of a source whether you are paraphrasing or directly quoting. Do not cite a specific part of a source in the reference list. Instead, cite the work that readers would retrieve to find the part. For example, if you cite data from a table in a government report, the government report is the source, and the ...
In APA style, you use parenthetical citations within the text of your paper to credit your sources, to show how recently your sources were published, and to refer your reader to a more detailed citation of the source in the reference list at the end of your paper. You should use parenthetical citations when you paraphrase, quote, or make any ...
APA in-text citations The basics. In-text citations are brief references in the running text that direct readers to the reference entry at the end of the paper. You include them every time you quote or paraphrase someone else's ideas or words to avoid plagiarism.. An APA in-text citation consists of the author's last name and the year of publication (also known as the author-date system).
APA follows an author and date of publication model for citing sources in your research paper and are presented as either narrative or parenthetical citations. The formatting does not vary due to format type, however it may deviate from the norm due to factors such as: number of authors, organization instead of individual author, lack of author, or lack of date.
The following are guidelines to follow when writing in-text citations: Ensure that the spelling of author names and the publication dates in reference list entries match those in the corresponding in-text citations. Cite only works that you have read and ideas that you have incorporated into your writing. The works you cite may provide key ...
Placement: The reference list appears at the end of the paper, on its own page(s). If your research paper ends on page 8, your References begin on page 9. Heading: Place the section label References in bold at the top of the page, centered. Arrangement: Alphabetize entries by author's last name. If source has no named author, alphabetize by the ...
To quote a source, copy a short piece of text word for word and put it inside quotation marks. To paraphrase a source, put the text into your own words. It's important that the paraphrase is not too close to the original wording. You can use the paraphrasing tool if you don't want to do this manually.
An in-text citation can be included in one of two ways as shown below: 1. Put all the citation information at the end of the sentence: 2. Include author name as part of the sentence (if author name unavailable, include title of work): Each source cited in-text must also be listed on your Works Cited page. RefWorks includes a citation builder ...
When citing a paraphrase or summary from an eBook, the citation should include the author last name and date of publication.. When quoting an eBook without page numbers, your in-text citation needs to include the author's last name, year, and the most direct location of the quote, such as a chapter or section title and the paragraph number.. For example:
When you cite a source with up to three authors, cite all authors' names. For four or more authors, list only the first name, followed by ' et al. ': Number of authors. In-text citation example. 1 author. (Davis, 2019) 2 authors. (Davis and Barrett, 2019) 3 authors.
Resources on writing an APA style reference list, including citation formats. Basic Rules Basic guidelines for formatting the reference list at the end of a standard APA research paper Author/Authors Rules for handling works by a single author or multiple authors that apply to all APA-style references in your reference list, regardless of the ...
Figure 8.1 in Chapter 8 of the Publication Manual provides an example of an appropriate level of citation. The number of sources you cite in your paper depends on the purpose of your work. For most papers, cite one or two of the most representative sources for each key point. Literature review papers typically include a more exhaustive list of ...
In-Text Citations (see pages 54 - 58, 116 - 128 of the MLA Handbook, 8th Edition) In the body of your paper, use parenthetical documentation (Chapter 5 of MLA Handbook).The purpose of your documentation is for your readers to be able to locate the sources which you cite in your text when they look at your bibliography ("Works Cited") located at the end of your paper.
For three or more authors, provide the first author's name surname first then followed by "et al." Books with three or more authors : Joseph, Gary, et al. Changing shirts. Generic Publishing House, 2011. When you want to cite a chapter or an essay in a book, follow this basic format.
APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the ...
Table of contents. Step 1: Introduce your topic. Step 2: Describe the background. Step 3: Establish your research problem. Step 4: Specify your objective (s) Step 5: Map out your paper. Research paper introduction examples. Frequently asked questions about the research paper introduction.
Make Your Paragraph a M.E.A.L. There are various ways to organize an academic paragraph, but here is a basic acronym you can follow to help you structure your writing at the paragraph level: M.E.A.L. M: Main Point Sentence. The first sentence of your paragraph states the main point of the paragraph and often connects back to the paper's thesis.
Citing a website in APA Style. An APA reference for a webpage lists the author's last name and initials, the full date of publication, the title of the page (in italics), the website name (in plain text), and the URL.. The in-text citation lists the author's last name and the year. If it's a long page, you may include a locator to identify the quote or paraphrase (e.g. a paragraph number ...
A Chicago bibliography entry for a book includes the author's name, the book title and subtitle, the edition (if stated), the location and name of the publisher, and the year of publication. For an e-book, add the e-book format (e.g. "Kindle") at the end. Author last name, First name. Book Title: Subtitle.