Citing Sources 

Welcome to the Citing Sources toolkit! This guide is here to help you cite your sources properly and avoid plagiarism in your papers.If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ask A Librarian!

All members of the SJU academic community—students, faculty members, and administrators—are encouraged to read the University's Academic Honesty Policy.

For any research paper, you must cite the sources that you use within the text as you discuss them and at the end of the paper in a bibliography commonly called a Works Cited or a References page.  Universities most often use APA, MLA or Chicago style, and each style manual dictates how you should produce these citations, both in-text and in your bibliography.

MLA Style, or the Modern Language Association Style, is more often associated with the Humanities, for subjects such as literature, modern languages, cultural studies and the fine arts.  APA Style, or the American Psychnological Association Style, is more often associated with the Social Sciences - subjects like Psychology, Education and Political Science. Chicago Style has two options for citing, and is used for a variety of subjects across discipines.

If you aren't sure which style to use, speak with your professor - they may have a preference.

Please note:

The print editions of the leading style guides are considered the authoritative source.

The ACS, APA, ASA, Chicago, CSE, MLA, and Turabian style guides are available in our Library at the Information Desk.

Additionally, Easy Writer summarizes the major styles and will answer most questions on citing (a copy is available at the Information Desk and for purchase at the University Bookstore).