How to Quote Reference Material on College Papers

Quoting reference material in college papers constitutes an essential skill for effective scholarly writing. Students can follow one of several styles, but most disciplines use the Modern Language Association (MLA) methods. It entails quotations referenced with a short passage in parentheses, referring to a Works Cited page at the end of the essay. Note that word processing software like Microsoft Word often takes care of the more tedious elements of citations automatically. You need only write the essay, insert your quotes where indicated, and populate the fields in the pop-up window.

Instructions

    • 1

      Click on the "References" command in your word processing software. If you're using Microsoft Word, it appears on the ribbon at the top of the page.

    • 2

      Set the word processor to the correct citation method for your paper. If you're not sure which style to use, check the syllabus of your course or contact the instructor. Common citation styles include MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association) and Chicago (Chicago Manual of Style).

    • 3

      Click on "Insert Citation," followed by "Add New Source." The information for all styles is similar: type of source (book, article, and so on), author, title, year and city of publication, and publisher.

    • 4

      Populate the fields requested in the "Create Source" window and click "OK."

    • 5

      Add the Bibliography or Works Cited page before printing your paper (the command is also located on the "References" tab in the ribbon).

    • 6

      Confirm that your citations appear correctly, and in the style you intended. For books, both MLA and Chicago should appear as Last Name, First Name. Underlined (MLA) or Italicized (Chicago) Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. APA shortens the first name to an initial, and places the year of publication earlier, like this: Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Italicized Title. Place of Publication: Publisher. If the citations don't appear correctly, click on the drop-down box labeled "Style" and switch to the correct style.

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