How to Cite

Two techniques of citing and documenting sources that are usually required in academic writing are:

1. providing a list of citations at the end of the paper
2. citing within the text of the paper.

These two techniques are used together.

Cite at the End

The final page of your paper is usually a list of the complete citations for the resources you cited or consulted. Depending on the style you're using, this list could be called "Works Cited," "References," "Bibliography," or "Works Consulted."

Cite as You Write

Citing within the text of your paper helps your reader quickly distinguish between your thoughts and words and those of someone else. Whenever you refer to the work of another person, you must indicate within the text where you got the information. Depending on the citation style you use, this indication within the text may take the form of a superscript number ¹ for a footnote or endnote or a notation within parentheses such as (Walker 21) or (Smith, 2008). The in-text citation is a marker that points the reader to the complete reference for the source at the end of your paper.