How to Cite in Reports

When quoting another person's work or using facts and figures from a published study, the sources must be cited or documented in the report. Citations add credibility, give credit to another person's work and allow readers to locate other sources. Avoiding the use of citations in reports construes the work as unfounded or plagiarized. Proper citation is done through in-text parenthetic notes, footnotes and endnotes. These are accompanied by a bibliography that is listed at the end of the report.

Things You'll Need

  • APA style guide
  • MLA style guide
  • Chicago style guide
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use in-text parenthetical notes at the end of sentences or paragraphs. Cite offline sources by author's late name and year of publication. Page numbers may also be added only when quoting exact words or referring to special pages. When citing online sources, give its URL. Examples: (Smith 2004), (Smith 2004:42) or (http://www.smithreports.com)

    • 2

      Use footnotes to elaborate on specific points that are not necessarily included in the rest of the report. Footnotes contain numbers that are placed at the end of sentences with the corresponding numbers and source information placed at the bottom of the page. Bottom page example: [1] Mary Smith, Medical Words and Phrases (New York Press, 2004), 42.

    • 3

      Use endnotes as an alternative to footnotes when citations occupy too much space on the page. Endnotes follow the same format as footnotes.

    • 4

      Create a bibliography page at the end of the report listing authors in alphabetical order by last name and including full biographical information for each work. Example: Smith, Mary (2004) Medical Words and Phrases. New York City, N.Y.: New York Press.

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