Welcome to the Northland Pioneer College Library's guide to writing and citation styles!
Click the tabs to find style manuals, digital copies of the Library's citation handouts, citation tools, and other guidance.
If you aren't sure what style you need to use, consult your class syllabus or verify with your instructor.
A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source.
It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again, including: information about the author.
Citations Tools
Most Databases and Library resources have a "Cite", "Citations", or "Citation Tools" that create the Citation for you. Online sources do NOT provide this. Citations are required for your paper or project.
Simply click on the tool to open the citation. Choose which Citation Style, and you can either download or copy and paste it into your document.
In-Text Citations
In-Text-Citations, otherwise known as Parenthetical Citations, are what you see within the document. Different Citation Styles require the In-Text Citation to be formatted in specific ways. It provides enough information that your reader can follow it to your end of paper citation.
APA refers to this as the Reference List and MLA calls it Works Cited. Either way, it is at the end of your paper, on a separate sheet of paper. It should be doubled spaced, with a hanging indent (see below). This should provide your reader with enough information that they can find the resource to verify or further research your topic. It follows a very specific format. To better understand these Citation Styles, please refer to the APA and MLA links on the left.
When should you cite sources?
Information that contributed to your thoughts, analysis or synthesis of ideas should be cited. The following are examples of when you should always cite your sources:
