Cite Your Sources

As an OCC student you are expected to acknowledge the sources you use in your course assignments. 

Why use citations?

  • Citations give proper credit where credit is due. They acknowledge the ideas of other researchers and identify the ideas that are not your own. This avoids plagiarism.
  • Citations show that your work has a factual basis. They provide support for your ideas and demonstrate to the reader that you have done your research.
  • Citations provide a bibliography so that others can locate the references you used and read those sources.

When to use citations 

  • Any time you use exact wording taken from another source
  • When you summarize or paraphrase ideas from another source
  • Use another person's ideas  

Types of citations

  • Include the full citation of the resources you used in your research on the Works Cited, Works Consulted, Reference List or Bibliography page at the end of your research paper.
  • Use in-text citations when you refer to the work of others within the written part or text of your paper. These lead to the full citation included at the end of your paper in the Works Cited section. 

The two most commonly used citation styles are MLA and APA. Follow the style guide required by your professor.

MLA

MLA Style is most often used in the humanities, including English, literature, art, theater, music, philosophy and religion. When using MLA, you create a Works Cited or Works Consulted page.

In MLA style, in-text citations are inserted in the body of your paper to identify the source of your information. In-text citations point the reader to more complete information in the Works Cited list at the end of the paper.  Visit MLA In-Text Citations:The Basics from the Purdue Owl website for more information.

Modern Language Association (MLA) 8th Edition Handout (PDF format)

This useful handout presents tips on using the MLA format for citations and offers examples of MLA citations for some formats.

For the complete rules as well as examples of additional formats not included in the Library handout, refer to the complete MLA Handbook or MLA Style Center.

APA

The APA formatting style is generally used in education and for the subject areas of psychology, engineering, science, and social sciences.  When using APA, you create a References List.

In APA style, in-text citations are inserted in the body of your paper to identify the source of your information. In-text citations point the reader to more complete information in the References List at the end of the paper. Visit the APA In-Text Citations:The Basics from the Purdue OWL website.

Coulter Library (APA) Handout)

This useful handout presents tips on using the APA format for citing scholarly resources. APA format is most often used in the fields of psychology, education and other social and behavioral sciences. 

EasyBib provides writing and grammar guides, citation resources and more.

Citation Generators

Citefast is a four-step citation generator that creates quick, accurate references for the most popular citation styles. Select a style tab to choose either APA, MLA, or Chicago style, and then select a source type.

Cite This For Me is a comprehensive citation generator that cites almost any type of source. Select the citation style you wish to use. You can then choose from 30 different reference types from podcasts to pop songs, interviews, religious texts, and more,

Citation Machine is another helpful citation generator.

Remember: Whichever citation generator you choose, always check your references for completeness, accuracy, and formatting.