How to Cite the First Amendment

MLA Style

• 1

  Format your in-text citation as follows: (U.S. Const., am. 1).

• 2

  Cite directly after quoting, summarizing or paraphrasing. Your parenthetical citation should fall outside the quotation marks if you are quoting directly. For example: Perhaps the most important limit on government power in this country is that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"
  (U.S. Const., am. 1).

• 3

  Do not include an entry for the Constitution on your works-cited page; because the document is easily accessible, MLA does not require that you include full bibliographic information for it.

APA Style

• 4

  Format your in-text citation as follows: (U.S. Const. amend. I). Note that you should use a Roman numeral "I" instead of an Arabic numeral "1."

• 5

  Cite directly after quoting, summarizing or paraphrasing. Your parenthetical citation should fall outside the quotation marks if you are quoting directly. For example: Perhaps the most important limit on government power in this country is that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"
  (U.S. Const. amend. I).

• 6

  Include the First Amendment in the reference list at the end of your paper. Your entry should be formatted as follows: U.S. Const. amend. I.