Use the PSU Library - For K-12 Students Not Enrolled at PSU: Cite Your Sources
What is a Citation?
A citation gives credit to the original author(s) of a work. Citations also allow people who are reading your work to be able to find the original sources of information.
Basic citations for a book, for example, include the name(s) of author(s) or editor(s), the title of the book, the publisher's name, the place of publication, and the most recent copyright year.
There are a number of styles that can be used to construct citations. Each style specifies the information to be included in the citation, the order of the information,the format, and the punctuation.
Your instructor may require a particular style. If there is not an assigned style, then choose a style and be consistent with that style throughout your work.
Using Automatic Citation Generators Video
Selected Online Citation Guides
- Chicago Manual of Style Online
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Provides recommendations on editorial style and publishing practices for the digital age. Funded by donors to the Dean's Fund for Excellence in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.
- Citing Government DocumentsGuides to citing government documents in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles.
- OWL - Purdue's Online Writing LabDetailed guide to APA, MLA, and Chicago citation styles. Navigate to "Research and Citation" on the left to access citation style help.