How to Cite a Paragraph in a Paper

A codified format is used to cite resources in the text of a paper. A general section of the resource is cited in the same way as a direct quote would be -- using either parenthetical or footnote form, then including more information in a separate works cited section at the end of the paper. Modern Language Association (MLA) style is used for language and literature studies, and American Psychological Association (APA) style is usually used for business, nursing and social science. Both styles require the same basic information on resources be provided both in the body of the paper and in the works cited section.

Instructions

    • 1

      Find the author, title, publishing company, city of publication, publication date and page number of the section of the reference that includes the information you have used to write a paragraph in the paper.

    • 2

      Write the author's name, date of publication and page number of the reference in parenthesis at the end of the paragraph.

    • 3

      Insert a footnote at the end of the paragraph if you choose to use a footnote rather than a parenthetical citation. Write the author's name and page number at the bottom of the page where the footnote appears -- the footnote will have a number within a text, and where you include the author and page number at the bottom of the page should be labeled with the corresponding number.

    • 4

      Insert a page break at the very end of the paper. Label the new page "Works Cited." Make sure the works cited page does not have a page number -- if your word processing system doesn't allow you to hide the page number, you may need to create a new document and print it separately from the rest of the paper or merge the two documents later.

    • 5

      Write the reference's author (last name, first name), period, the reference's title in italics, period, the city of publication, colon, the publishing company's name and the date of publication in parenthesis.

    • 6

      Insert "n.d." (which stands for "no date") if you can't find a date for the resource. Omit any other information that you can't find from the works cited page or other citations. Include the paragraph number for the information used when it comes from a website that doesn't give the author's name.

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