HIST 101 - History of the United States to 1877

Your instructor should tell you which citation style he or she wants you to use. Click on the appropriate link below to learn how to format your paper and cite your sources according to a particular style.

What Do You Cite?

Cite all outside sources you use in your research paper! Citing is required for sources you:

Quote word-for-word,

Paraphrase (rewrite using your own words), and

Summarize (rewrite the main concept or idea in your own words).

Collect the Information You Need

It's important to make sure you collect all the information you need to cite a source as you gather your information so that you won't need to look it up again, so:

• Take clear, accurate notes about where you found specific ideas
• Write down the complete citation information for each book, article, etc. you use as you go along
• Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words
• Always credit original authors for their information and ideas

Keep Track of Information About Your Sources

As you explore your topic, you'll discover and read information from many different sources. With each new source, you'll need to decide if you want to use it. To help you make this decision, you'll ask yourself questions about the source like:

• Who is the author of this source?
• What is the title of the source?
• How was the source published?
• Where did I find this source?
• When was the source published?

Each of these elements (author, title, publisher, location, publication date) will become part of your citation. As you work, you'll want to keep track of each of these elements so that creating your citations will be easier.