Place in-text citations in parenthesis next to the material that came from each contributor. Format in-text citations according to the handbook of the citation style you are using. For example, in-text citations in MLA format include the last name and the page number, with no comma, after each item being cited. In APA, however, you must include the author's last name, the year, and the page number if it is a direct quote.
Leave the author's last name out of the in-text citation if the author is mentioned in the text of the paper in both MLA and APA. In APA, place the year, in parenthesis, after the author's name and the page number preceded by "p.," if it is a direct quote, at the end of the information that came from that contributor. For instance, "Smith (1997) notes, "..." (p. 23).
Create a bibliographic entry for each contributor on the works cited or reference page. In MLA, the final page of a research paper, where all the contributors are listed, is called a "works cited" page. In APA, this is a reference page. Follow the guidelines of your citation style to cite the proper information in the proper format for the type of contributor publication you are citing. For example, in MLA, you must list the author's name, the book title, the publication location, the publisher, the year, and the medium of publication when citing a book.
Alphabetize the bibliographic page. Citation styles require contributors to research papers be listed according to their various formats because this makes checking those contributors and their publications easy for the reader. Put the Works Cited page in alphabetical order so readers can quickly find the contributor they are looking for.