Penn State University Libraries - Citing Your Sources

Whenever you use sources such as books, journals, or Web sites in your research paper you must give credit by properly citing the sources. There are a number of different citation styles, depending on the discipline in which you are working. Ask your instructor which style is recommended for each course.

Using information without properly citing the original source is plagiarism. For more information about how to use information correctly without plagiarizing, see the Plagiarism & You section in this tutorial.

The two cardinal rules of citing are:

1. Pick a style and be consistent. This will give a more polished look to your report.
2. Give complete information. The objective in citing is to lead your reader to the same information you found. (Make sure your citation contains everything you would need to backtrack and find the information again.)
   

For more information about citation styles, refer to these resources:

• Style Manuals — Links to print and online style manuals for many different citation styles
• MLA Quick Citation Guide — Guidelines and examples for using MLA style
• APA Quick Citation Guide — Guidelines and examples for using APA style
• Research and Documentation Online by Diana Hacker
  An online style guide that includes citation guidelines for MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE styles