Elizabeth Dean, Consultant

Quality academic writing draws from the ideas of others, so giving credit to previous authors is an important part of your writing process. Citation styles such as MLA, APA, and Chicago are designed to place your ideas in conversation with other scholars. Using others’ ideas with effective citation grants you credibility as a researcher and helps you establish your place within your field of study.

However, citation styles may seem complicated and overwhelming. Many students feel stressed by the rules and regulations. Here are some strategies to help you manage your citation during a writing project.

Cite as you research

You may find it helpful to create your citation as you read your sources. As soon as you finish reading your book, article, or other type of source, go ahead and create a bibliographic citation for it. This way, it takes less time to remember the information about your source. Writing your citations one by one is a low-stress way to gradually create your bibliography.

Set aside time specifically for citation

As you approach your final edits of your paper, read through it with a focus on citation. Make sure all direct quotes and paraphrases are marked with an in-text citation, and double-check the form of your bibliographic citations. If you plan ahead to set aside time for this purpose, you will be able to catch possible mistakes at the end of your process.

Take it one source at a time

If you find yourself falling behind with the citations in your draft, catching up can seem like a daunting task. However, you can go through your sources like a checklist and focus on one source and its place within your text. Once you have inserted the in-text citations and placed the source in your bibliography, move on to the next one. This strategy breaks up the task into manageable pieces.

Use online resources

There are several online resources with information about using specific citation styles. The University Writing Center has several video workshops that discuss plagiarism, APA, and MLA style. They also have handouts on citation and documentation. The Purdue OWL has sample papers and bibliographic citations. Citation management software such as Zotero and Endnote are available to help manage your citations over the course of a project. (Zotero is free to all users, and Endnote is available for free through U of L.)

Visit the University Writing Center

At the University Writing Center, our consultants can talk to you about your individual citation needs. We have copies of the official handbooks for many citation styles. We can help you understand the overall goal of citations in your paper and teach you even more strategies to help you enter into an academic conversation.

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