Last updated on Dec 01, 2023 research
In the academic world, a citation is used to tell the audience (usually a reader or instructor) that the information being presented is coming from another source. A full citation usually includes the author, title, date, and publication information of the source and is often included at the end of a paper. An in-text citation is the first part of the full citation, usually the author last name, and often also will include the page number of the section being referenced and sometimes the date of publication. The in-text citation information is usually enclosed in parentheses within the body of a paper. The Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) have specific formatting guidelines for how to cite your sources. The library's citation guides go into more detail on how and when to cite.