A works cited page, also known as a bibliography, is a page at the end of a paper that lists all the sources used for the paper. This list is typically alphabetical by author, and contains information such as the title of the source, authors' names, the publisher, pages used and more. There is specific formatting for a works cited page based on what style the paper is written in, such as MLA style.
Another characteristic of citing materials is in-text citations, where you note the reference material right in the text of the paper. This is a more direct way to say where you got information and what specific information you got. In-text citations can be done in a number of ways, such as, "John Smith, in his study, 'Marriage Rituals of 18th Century Americans' said that..." In that instance, the author and source are named in the writing itself. Another method is to include parentheses at the end of a sentence where the author or article name is mentioned, in addition to the page number or year. Like a works cited page, this formatting can change based on what style the paper is written in.
Like in-text citations, footnotes are a way to cite materials right when the material is used in a paper. However, instead of parentheses with information, a simple number can be used next to the information, written slightly above the text. This superscripted number corresponds to the same number printed with more information on the bottom of the page, for example, the name of the study and author or more information about the source. The numbers are used in order, so the first footnote will be number 1, the second number 2 and so on.
If your paper is being published online, another way to cite materials is to directly link the information in the paper to the reference material if it has a URL. This allows people to access the source with just a click or two. Citing materials using links is often done by adding a hyperlink either to the words that are from the source or words that reference the source. With the example, "John Smith, in his study, 'Marriage Rituals of 18th Century Americans' said that...," the hyperlink would most likely be on the words "Marriage Rituals of 18 Century Americans" or on the specific information that the study said such as, "The average age for marriage was 20 years old."