Harvard Guide To Using Sources: Citation Formats

Citation Formats Harvard Guide to Using Sources
Harvard Guide to Using Sources
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Introduction
MLA parenthetical citations MLA Works Cited list APA parenthetical citations APA reference list
Why Use Sources?
Chicago style
Locating Sources
Evaluating Sources
Avoiding Plagiarism
Integrating Sources
Citing Sources
Citation Formats
Books
Scholarly Journals
Newspapers and Magazines
Other Text Sources
Non-Text Sources
MLA parenthetical citations
he recommendations below are based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed. New York:
MLA, 2009), which is available through the Harvard library system. If you own a copy of the MLA Handbook, you
can access the text, along with several sample research projects, at http://www.mlahandbook.org. In MLA style, use
parenthetical citations within the text of your paper to credit your sources and to refer your reader to a more detailed
citation in your list of works cited at the end of your paper. Use parenthetical citations when you paraphrase, quote, or
make any reference to another author's work. A parenthetical citation in MLA style should include an author's last name
and the page number to which you refer in that author's work. You should not use a comma to separate author and page
number. When the citation appears at the end of a sentence, the period comes outside the parentheses. If you need to
put the citation before the end of the sentence (in cases where you have more than one citation in a sentence), place
any punctuation after the citation as well.
Examples
Supreme Court precedent regarding the constitutionality of granting union members the exclusive right to
participate in collective bargaining turns on the question of "how to protect the rights of nonunion members
without violating the rights of union members or damaging the effectiveness of the collective-bargaining
process" (Imber and Van Geel 472).
The Supreme Court has considered the constitutionality of granting union members the exclusive right to
participate in collective bargaining in two cases (Imber and Van Geel 472-81).
To refer to an entire work, rather than to a specific page or range of pages, use the author's last name only. If the work
has no pagination, use the author's last name only.
Example
One study of two large school districts shows that unions do not dominate the financing of school board
elections (Adams).
If the text of your paper makes it clear that you are referring to a particular work, there is no need to repeat the
author's name in a parenthetical citation; instead, you can cite the page number(s) only. Furthermore, you can omit the
parenthetical citation entirely if you refer to the entire work.
http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k70847&pageid=icb.page363223[6/19/2015 9:10:36 PM]

Examples
Adams argues that, rather than being dominated by unions, school board candidates form fundraising
coalitions "based on personal connections between candidates and contributors formed through social
relationships or civic networks" (413).
Adams's study of two large school districts shows that unions do not dominate the financing of school board
elections.
If your list of works cited includes multiple works by the same author, identify the title of the work, shortened if
necessary, after the author's name. Include the page number if you refer to a specific page.
Example
One union-endorsed candidate publicly disagreed with the teachers' union on a number of issues (Borsuk,
"Board Hopefuls").
If your list of works cited includes sources by multiple authors with the same last name, identify them in your
parenthetical citations by first initial and last name or, if necessary, first and last name.
Example
One parent expresses the belief that waves of reform in special education have produced little change in
most teachers' classroom practice (M. Carr).
To attribute a point to multiple sources, list them together in one parenthetical citation, separated by semicolons. Include
page numbers if you refer to specific pages in each work. If a long parenthetical citation would disrupt the flow of your
paper, use a footnote instead.
Example
Students who possess cultural capital, measured by proxies like involvement in literature, art, and classical
music, tend to perform better in school (Bourdieu and Passeron; Dumais; Orr).
To refer to a work that has no author, cite the title or the first few words of the title
Example
The newspaper's editorial board praised the school board president's efforts to promote reform ("Our School
Board Choices").
In general, parenthetical citations should be as concise as possible while clearly pointing your reader to the appropriate
citation in your list of works cited.
MLA Works Cited list
LA style requires you to include a list of all the works cited in your paper on a new page at the end of your paper.
The entries in the list should be in alphabetical order by the author's last name. The entire list should be doublespaced. For each of the entries in the list, every line after the first line should be indented one-half inch from the left
margin. "Works Cited" should be centered at the top of the new page.
Examples
Works Cited
Adams, Brian. "Fund-Raising Coalitions in School Board
Elections." Education and Urban Society 40.4
(2008): 411-27. Print.
"Works Cited" should be

centered. This list should
appear on a separate page at
the end of your paper.
Alphabetize the list by the
author's last name.
Borsuk, Alan. "Board Hopefuls Aren't Fully in Sync with

Supporters." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 1 Apr. 1999: 7.
Print.
---. "Incumbent Small Steers Clear of Challenger." Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel 31 Mar. 1999: 6. Print.
Borsuk, Alan, and Sam Schulhofer-Wohl. "Voters Shake Up School
Board." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 4 Apr. 2001: B1. Print.
Bourdieu, Pierre, and Jean-Claude Passeron. Reproduction in
Education, Society, and Culture. Trans. Richard Nice.
London: Sage Publications, 1977. Print.
Carr, Margaret N. "A Mother's Thoughts on Inclusion." Journal of
Learning Disabilities 26.9 (1993): 590-92. Print.
When you list two works by

the same author, you do not
need to list the author a
second time. Instead, use
three dashes to indicate the
second reference to the
author.
Carr, Sarah. "Race for School Board Repeats Itself in 3rd District."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 25 Mar. 2003: B5. Print.
Dumais, Susan. "Cultural Capital, Gender, and School Success:
The Role of Habitus." Sociology of Education 75 (2002): 4468. Print.
Imber, Michael, and Tyll Van Geel. Education Law. 3rd ed.
Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006. Print.
Johnson, Susan Moore, Morgaen L. Donaldson, Mindy Sick Munger,
John P. Papay, and Emily K. Qazilbash. "Leading the Local:
Teachers Union Presidents Chart Their Own Course."
Peabody Journal of Education 84.3 (2009): 374-93. Print.
Moe, Terry. "The Union Label on the Ballot Box." Education Next
6.3 (2006): 58-66. Print.
Orr,
Amy. "Black-White Differences in Achievement: The

Importance of Wealth." Sociology of Education 76.4 (2003):
281-304. Print.
"Our School Board Choices." Editorial. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

31 Mar. 2001: A12. Print.
APA parenthetical citations
he recommendations below are based on the standards set forth by the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed. Washington, DC: APA, 2009), which is available through the Harvard library
system. The APA also maintains a Web site (http://www.apastyle.org/) with a basic tutorial, answers to frequently asked
questions, and a blog.
In APA style, use parenthetical citations within the text of your paper to credit your sources, to indicate the currency of

your sources, and to refer your reader to a more detailed citation in your reference list. Use parenthetical citations when
you paraphrase, quote, or make any reference to another author's work. A parenthetical citation in APA style should
include the author's last name as well as the year in which the work was published, with a comma separating them. If
the author's name and/or the year of publication are clear from the sentence preceding the citation, you may omit them
from the citation.
Examples
One study of two large school districts shows that unions do not dominate the financing of school board
elections (Adams, 2008).
Adams's study of two large school districts shows that unions do not dominate the financing of school board
elections (2008).
Brian Adams (2008) concluded that unions do not dominate the financing of school board elections.
If you refer to a specific page or pages of the text, first list the year of publication and then list "p." followed by the page
number or "pp." followed by the range of pages. If you refer to a specific chapter, indicate that chapter after the year.
Examples
Supreme Court precedent regarding the constitutionality of granting union members the exclusive right to
participate in collective bargaining turns on the question of "how to protect the rights of nonunion members
without violating the rights of union members or damaging the effectiveness of the collective-bargaining
process" (Imber & Van Geel, 2004, p. 472).
The Supreme Court has considered the constitutionality of granting union members the exclusive right to
participate in collective bargaining in two cases (Imber & Van Geel, 2004, pp. 472-481).
Use an ampersand when you list a work by multiple authors in a parenthetical citation.
Example
Voters elected two candidates who touted their opposition to the voucher program (Borsuk & SchulhoferWohl, 2001).
If a work has three, four, or five authors list the last name of every author the first time you refer to their work, but list
only the first author's name followed by "et al." in subsequent references. If a work has six or more authors, list only the
first author's name followed by "et al." in the first and all subsequent references.
Examples
Many local union presidents express willingness to consider performance-based compensation for teachers,
despite the opposition of state and national union leaders (Johnson, Donaldson, Munger, Papay, & Qazilbash,
2009, pp. 385-386).
Some school districts maintain a continuous labor-management dialogue outside of formal contract
negotiation periods (Johnson et al., 2009, pp. 388-389).
Recent work on mathematical instruction has provided evidence that professional development for teachers
can "cut both ways" (Hill et al., 2008, p. 500).

If the text of your paper makes it clear that you are referring to a particular work, there is no need to repeat the
author's name in a parenthetical citation. Instead, you can cite only the year and, if applicable, the page number(s).
Example
Terry Moe argues that well-organized unions wield such influence in school board elections that they "can
literally choose the very 'management' they will be bargaining with" (2006, p. 59).
To attribute a point or idea to multiple sources, list them in one parenthetical citation, ordered alphabetically by author
and separated by semicolons. Works by the same author should be ordered chronologically, from oldest to most recent,
with the publication dates separated by commas.
Example
Students who possess cultural capital, measured by proxies like involvement in literature, art, and classical
music, tend to perform better in school (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Dumais, 2002; Orr, 2003).
If your reference list includes multiple works by the same author in the same year, identify them in your parenthetical
citations and in your reference list by a lowercase letter after the year, assigning each letter in alphabetical order by the
title of the work. When establishing the alphabetical order of works in your reference list, do not count the words "A" or
"The" when they appear as the first word in a title.
Example
One union-endorsed candidate publicly disagreed with the teachers' union on a number of issues (Borsuk,
1999a).
If your reference list includes sources by multiple authors with the same last name, list each author's initials before his
or her last name, even when the works were published in different years.
Example
One parent expresses the belief that waves of reform in special education have produced little change in
most teachers' classroom practice (M. N. Carr, 1993).
To refer to a work that is listed in your reference list by title rather than by author, cite the title or the first few words of
the title.
Example
The newspaper's editorial board praised the school board president's efforts to promote reform ("Our School
Board Choices," 2001).
Ordinarily, to cite a specific place in a work, indicate a page number or range of page numbers after the author's name.
For works published electronically with no page numbers, help your reader locate the materials you cite by listing either

the paragraph numbers where your citation occurs or the first few words of the relevant section heading, followed by
paragraph numbers.
APA reference list
PA style requires you to provide a reference list at the end of your paper. The list should be double-spaced, and
each line after the first one in each entry should be indented. The title of the list should be "References" and
should be centered at the top of the page.
Examples
References
Adams, B. (2008). Fund-raising coalitions in school
board elections. Education and Urban Society,
40(4), 411-427.
Borsuk, A. (1999b, March 31). Incumbent Small steers clear of
challenger. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, p. 6.
Borsuk, A. (1999a, April 1). Board hopefuls aren't fully in sync
with supporters. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, p. 7.
Borsuk, A., & Schulhofer-Wohl, S. (2001, April 4). Voters shake
up school board. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, p. B1.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1990). Reproduction in education,
society, and culture (R. Nice, trans.). London, England:
Sage Publications. (Original work published 1977)
Carr, M. N. (1993). A mother's thoughts on inclusion. Journal of
Learning Disabilities, 26(9), 590-592.
Carr, S. (2003, March 25). Race for school board repeats itself in
3rd district. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, p. 5B.
Dumais, S. (2002). Cultural capital, gender, and school success:
The role of habitus. Sociology of Education, 75, 44-68.
Hill, H. C., Blunk, M., Charalambous, C., Lewis, J., Phelps, G.,
Sleep, L., & Ball, D. L. (2008). Mathematical knowledge for
teaching and the mathematical quality of instruction: An
exploratory study. Cognition and Instruction, 26(4), 430511.
Imber, M., & Van Geel, T. (2006). Education law (3rd ed.).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Johnson, S. M., Donaldson, M. L., Munger, M. S., Papay, J. P., &
Qazilbash, E. K. (2009). Leading the local: Teachers union
presidents chart their own course. Peabody Journal of
Education, 84(3), 374-393.
Moe, T. (2006). The union label on the ballot box. Education
Next, 6(3), 58-66.
Orr, A. (2003). Black-white differences in achievement: The
importance of wealth. Sociology of Education, 76(4), 281304.
Our school board choices [Editorial]. (2001, March 31). Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, p. A12.
Chicago style
"References" should be
centered. Alphabetize the list
by the author's last name.
When you list two works by

the same author, list the
author's name each time and
order the works by date of
publication.

If you are using Chicago style for your paper, you should consult The Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed. Chicago: U of
Chicago P, 2010), which can be accessed in full through the Harvard library subscription. If you are looking for guidance
regarding the basic elements of citation within Chicago style, you can access the "Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide"
here.
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