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King/Chavez Scholars: Cite

Why Cite?

Documenting your sources is a necessity, which:

  1. Allows readers to find your sources;
  2. Provides evidence for your arguments;
  3. Adds credibility to your work;
  4. Avoids plagiarism, the consequence of which could be an allegation of academic misconduct. This could result disciplinary sanctions such as an oral reprimand, redoing your assignment, losing points off your grade, failing the class, being expelled, etc., all of which depend in part on the severity of the offense. For details, see the Avoiding Academic Misconduct Procedures web document and related documents such as Disciplinary Procedures: Student Academic Misconduct: UWS Chapter 14.

Choose a Citation Style

When deciding which citation style to use, the most important factor to consider is what your professor requests. If s/he does not specify which one you are to use, choose the one most commonly used in the field you are writing in. At UW-Whitewater, the most often used styles are APA, MLA and Turabian. These styles are used for various subjects, for example:

  • Use APA style if you are writing about business, psychology, education, or public relations
  • Use MLA style if you are writing about languages or literatures
  • Use Turabian style if you are writing about history

APA Style

Whether you choose to quote, summarize, or paraphrase sources in your research paper, you must cite each source you use. For rules and examples, look here:

Sometimes students will use online citation formatters provided free on the Web or within a library database. If you use one of these online formatters, remember that they are not foolproof. You will need to review your citations to make sure they are correct. This Citation Helper Tools guide may have some tools you can use. The library supports both Zotero and EndNote, which are very useful when using many sources.

MLA Style

Whether you choose to quote, summarize, or paraphrase sources you use in your research paper, you must cite each one. For rules and examples in MLA 8th ed. style, look here:

Sometimes students will use online citation formatters provided free on the Web or within a library database. If you use one of these online formatters, remember that they are not foolproof. You will need to review your citations to make sure they are correct. This Citation Helper Tools guide may have some tools you can use. The library supports both Zotero and EndNote, which are very useful when using many sources.

Turabian Style

Whether you choose to quote, summarize, or paraphrase sources you use in your research paper, you must cite each one. For rules and examples, look here:

Sometimes students will use online citation formatters provided free on the Web or within a library database. If you use one of these online formatters, remember that they are not foolproof. You will need to review your citations to make sure they are correct. This Citation Helper Tools guide may have some tools you can use. The library supports both Zotero and EndNote, which are very useful when using many sources.

Introduction to Citation Formatters

What is a citation formatter? Also called a builder, generator or manager, it is a program in which you enter citation information (author, title, etc.) and the program creates a citation formatted in a specific style (APA, MLA, Turabian, etc.). Citation formatters tend to work best for basic citations of common materials, such as books with a single author or a journal article with four authors. If you want to cite something more unusual, such as an interview, class lecture or video, they may not work as well.

Warning: All citation formatters should be used with caution. They are not foolproof and do not guarantee correct results. Be sure to review the results to check for formatting, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, required elements, etc. for the citation style you are using.

Consult the appropriate official style manual for the definitive answer to your citation questions. Some examples of citations in APA, MLA and Turabian styles are available in the Library's Citing References guides. For additional assistance, please contact the library reference desk in person, by phone at (262) 472-1032 or by Ask a Librarian email/chat. If you need help planning, composing, revising, or editing your paper, including reviewing your citations, please visit the Writing Center in McCutchan Hall.

Zotero

Zotero (pronounced "zoh-TAIR-oh") is a free, open-source citation-management service that helps students and researchers:

  • Collect and organize many types of references from online services such as article databases, Research@UWW and other library catalogs, Google Scholar, blogs, and other websites.
  • Store an unlimited number of references on your computer.
  • Capture PDFs from article databases and automatically attach them to the correct reference. 
  • Sync up to 300 MB of references and files with your online account and other computers for free. There is an option to purchase more storage space. 
  • Share references and collaborate with other Zotero users.
  • Create citations and bibliographies in a variety of citation styles.
  • Insert citations and bibliograhies into word processing documents.  Compatible with Microsoft Word, Open Office, and Google Docs.

The Andersen Library has a Zotero guide that can help you use this service. You can also contact Diana Shull at shulld@uww.edu for individual assistance.

Get Help: Ask a Librarian