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Citing Sources of Information

Suggested resources for citing sources correctly

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Examples of in-text citations - MLA style

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. The author’s last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text.

One author

... (Ritter 105-16).

OR Ritter found that ... (105-16)

Two authors

... (Conway and Chang 126).

OR Conway and Chang found that ... (126).

Three authors

... (Fischer, Perry, and Hout 776-77).

OR Fischer, Perry, and Hout found that ... (776-77).       

Three or more authors

... (Rogers et al. 2501-08).

OR Rogers et al. found that ... (2501-08).

Two works cited together

... (Jackson 69; Rogers et al. 2501-08).
References to volumes and pages              

... (Armstrong, 3: 1-15).

OR ... Armstrong found that ... (3: 1-15).

Reference to entire volume

... (Turner, vol. 5)

OR In volume 5, Turner found that ...

 

Examples of reference list entries - MLA Style

When citing sources in the reference list, invert all authors’ names. Give surnames and given names in full if possible. When there are more than three authors, list all authors, OR name only the first and add et al.

The following examples are based on information provided in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7th Edition.

 From a book

From an article in print format

From an article published in a periodical, retrieved through a database

 

From an article from an Internet news source

Citing non-English sources in English papers

A common practice is to give the original title in the reference and give the English translation in brackets.

If the source was written in a non-Latin script, such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean, transliterate the title into English alphabet. Below are two examples cited in MLA style:

A book in French:

Webb, Danny, and Crystal Andre. Statistiques Economiques a Court Terme [Short-term Economic Statistics]. Paris, France: Presses Universitaires de France, 2008.

A journal article in Chinese:

Liu, Wei. "Guanyu LibQual+ Tushuguan Fuwu Zhiliang Pingjia Yu Shizheng Yanjiu [An Empirical Analysis of Library Service Quality Evaluation Based on the LibQual+]." Gaoxiao Tushuguan Gongzuo 20.5 (2012): 32-36.

Citing Chinese sources in Chinese papers - Chinese citation styles

Chinese citation styles are generally different from English ones and there are no standardized styles. Check with your instructor for the acceptable style for your assignments. Below are some guides for reference:

中文出版物編寫格式準則 (香港城市大學出版社)

學術論文寫作：中文論文格式 MLA / APA (香港中文大學自學中心) 

香港大學中文學院研究論文格式舉要

Citing electronic sources with no page number

If any required information is not available, MLA Style requires that you use special abbreviations to indicate the information is unavailable
(n.p. - no publisher, n.d. - no publication date, n.pag. - no page number).  See the following for more information:
https://libguides.library.cityu.edu.hk/citing/mla
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