Citation and Reference Basics
The words citation and reference are often used interchangeably. However, professional writing styles, such as the American Psychological Association (APA), define these two terms as being distinctly different.
- Citations (sometimes called in-text citations) are often described as being short abbreviations or brief notations of author information in the text of a sentence. Citations note the resource being quoted in the sentence. Citations are indicators of the full references that are found at the end of the body or work.
| Basic rule: MLA parenthetical citation for 1 author using an indirect quote: |
| Basic format: (Lastname). Example: All professionals should base their practice on quality, proven research that has been peer-reviewed (Doe). |
| Basic rule: APA parenthetical citation for 1 author using an indirect quote: |
| Basic format: (Lastname, Year). Example: All professionals should base their practice on quality, proven research that has been peer-reviewed (Doe, 2011). |
- References, bibliographic references, or Works Cited references are detailed descriptions of the resources placed at the end of the body or work.
| Basic rule: MLA Works Cited reference for a book (this example is with 2 authors). |
| Lastname, First M., and First M. Lastname2. Title of book. Publisher Name, Year.
Example: Doe, John A., and Jane B. Doe. Writing in style. Magale Press, 2021. |
| Basic rule: APA References section reference for a book (this example is with 2 authors). |
| Lastname, I. I. & Lastname2, I. I. (Year). Writing in style. Location: Publisher Name.
Example: Doe, J A. & Doe, J. B. (2021). Writing in style. Magnolia, AR: Magale Press.
|
| Basic rule: MLA Works Cited reference for a journal article with 1 author. Note: in a formal paper, these would include hanging indents. |
| Doe, John. “The Writing Process.” The Writer’s Journal, vol. 34, no. 2, 2011, pp. 210-233. |
| Basic rule: APA References section reference for a journal article with 1 author. Note: in a formal paper, these would include hanging indents. |
| Doe, J. (2011). The writing process. The Writer’s Journal, 34(2), 210-233. |
A key aspect of citations and references is that they should be aligned with each other. For example, the author information in a citation should match the author information in the Works Cited reference when using MLA Style. In APA Style, the author and publication year information in a citation should align with the same information in the References section reference for the resource. This alignment of citations and references can be seen in the two examples provided.
Additionally, citations vary depending on the number of authors named on the resource. Here are some basic rules for handling the number of authors in MLA and APA citations:
| MLA Parenthetical Citations-Indirect Quotes |
| 1 author > (Lastname). |
| 2 authors > (Lastname and Lastname). |
| 3 or more authors > (Lastname et al.). |
| APA Parenthetical Citations-Indirect Quotes |
| 1 author > (Lastname, Year). |
| 2 authors > (Lastname & Lastname, Year). |
| 3 or more authors > (Lastname et al., Year). |
Still not sure about using citations and references? Try viewing our video tutorial:
Citing Resources (MLA 9th / APA 7th)
- Learn the basics of citing resources! This tutorial discusses the importance of citing resources. Attention is given to the common elements of citations and references along with a discussion of MLA 9th edition and APA 7th edition writing styles.
Are you using The Chicago Manual of Style format? Try reviewing our The Chicago Manual of Style Guide (requires Adobe Reader, https://get.adobe.com/reader/)
Citing/Referencing an Artificial Intelligence?
How to Cite/Reference Artificial Intelligence (AI) in APA Style
- Based on APA Style: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt
First, recognize that you will likely need to include in your work the prompt you entered in the AI in addition to the citation in your sentence. Next, remember to include a full bibliographic reference in your References section following the example below. The parenthetical citation is the name of the AI author/producer followed by a comma and the publication year of the response, e.g. (Author or producer of the AI, Year).
Example:
When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).
Next, remember to include a full bibliographic reference in your Reference section following the example below. Here is the general format:
Reference
Producer/Author of AI. (Year). Name of AI in italics (Month Day version) [Large language model]. urltotheAI.
Reference
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
How to Cite/Reference Artificial Intelligence (AI) in MLA Style
Based on Purdue’s Online Writing Lab guide: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/c.php?g=1371380&p=10135074
Using the same example above, MLA citations and references for AI work similarly. Again, recognize that you will likely need to include in your work the prompt you entered in the AI in addition to the parenthetical citation in your sentence. The parenthetical citation is the first few words of the prompt placed in quotation marks, e.g. (“Prompted entered in the AI”).
Example:
When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (“Is the left brain”).
Next, remember to include a full bibliographic reference in your Work Cited section following the example below. Here is the general format:
Work Cited
“Prompted entered in the AI” prompt. AI name, month day version, AI creator, Day Month Year, urltotheAI.
Work Cited
“Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” prompt. ChatGPT, Mar 14 version, OpenAI, 14 Mar 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat
How to Cite/Reference Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Chicago Style
- Based on the Chicago Manual of Style guide: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Documentation/faq0422.html
Using the same example above, MLA citations and references for AI work similarly. Again, recognize that you will likely need to include in your work the prompt you entered in the AI in addition to the parenthetical citation in your sentence. The parenthetical citation is the name of the AI and the date used placed, e.g. (Name of the AI, Month Day, Year).
Example:
When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (ChatGPT, March 14, 2023).
Next, remember to include a full bibliographic reference in your Bibliography section following the example below. Here is the general format followed by the format for the example above:
Bibliography
Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Bibliography
Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 14, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat
When/Where to Cite Resources in Writing:
Many professionals construct their writing to stay focused on topics and support their claims. One way to do this is to consider the MEAL Plan for constructing paragraphs in writing. The MEAL Plan for paragraph construction emphasizes using four components: M – Main idea, E – Evidence, A – Analysis, and L- Lead statement. The first sentence of the paragraph is the main idea or central focus, followed by evidence sentences that cite authoritative resources supporting claims, followed by analysis statements, and then closing the paragraph with a statement leading back to the larger claim of the paper or work. The below resources offer direct explanations of how the MEAL Plan works:
- Walden University’s Writing Center – Paragraphs: Organization (MEAL Plan)
- Kennesaw State University’s Writing Center – MEAL Plan
- Duke University’s Writing Studio – Paragraphing: The MEAL Plan
Citation and Referencing Websites and Generators:
Notice: Magale Library does not maintain the materials on the below pages and is not responsible for their contents)
- Accredited Schools Online Understanding and Preventing Plagiarism – This website offers helpful tips on recognizing, avoiding, and correcting plagiarism.
- BibMe – The fully automatic bibliography maker that auto-fills. It’s the easiest way to generate citations to build a works cited page. And it’s free.
- citationmachine.net – This website offers citation assistance with APA and MLA writing styles
- ERIC – Creating Citations Using Elements in the ERIC Record
- MLA 8: Visual Guide – Show students that formatting a paper in MLA 8 isn’t so intimidating with our visual guide. Our example paper comes with colorful annotations and tips to help them tackle all the basics.
- Purdue’s O.W.L: Online Writing Lab – This website offers help using various writing styles, including MLA and APA.
- ReciteWorks.com – Recite “checks that your in text citations match the reference list at the end of your work.”
- World Book’s MLA Citations Poster – This digital poster provides directions and examples for citing the most commonly used resources in MLA style. (requires Adobe Reader, https://get.adobe.com/reader/)
- Zotero.org – Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share research. (This includes citing and referencing in MLA, APA, ACS, ASME, and Chicago styles.
