Skip to Main Content

First Year Students' Guide to UW Libraries

Citations are important

It is important to properly cite the sources used when writing your academic paper in order to:

  • Give credit to others' ideas and scholarship
  • Avoid plagiarism
  • Allow others to locate sources used
  • Demonstrate authority of information

Citation elements often include:

  • Author name(s)
  • Title of publication (e.g., articles, journals, books)
  • Date of publication
  • Page numbers
  • Volume and issue numbers (for journals, magazines, and other periodicals)
  • Publisher name and location (for print books and reports)
  • URL or DOI locators (for electronic sources)

If your instructor asked you to cite in APA:

If your instructor asked you to cite in MLA:

APA Online Guide

APA Citation Style is used when writing or citing works in the social sciences or business. The OWL website provides online guidance for the 7th and 6th editions.

MLA Online Guides

MLA Citation Style is used when writing or citing works in the humanities.

Citation Management Tools