What's Your Style?
It is important to document your sources to help your reader find your research sources and to avoid plagiarism. It is standard practice in writing papers.
While there are many different citation styles, the most commonly used by Madison College English classes are MLA and APA:
- MLA (Modern Language Association)MLA (Modern Language Association) is most commonly used in the humanities. Most English classes will use this style.
- APA (American Psychological Association)APA (American Psychological Association) is most commonly used in the social sciences. Many English classes use this style.
Online Writing Labs (OWLS)
- Purdue University's OWLThe Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.
- UW Madison's Online Writing HandbookHere you will find many instructional materials that faculty and staff have developed for their Writing Center teaching.
Citation & Plagiarism Tutorials
- Citing Sources and Avoiding PlagiarismMultimedia tutorial created by the Madison College Libraries.
- Xtreme Plagiarism TutorialHelp the skier get down the hill by correctly answering questions about plagiarism.
Plagiarism Video
Microsoft Word 2013
Microsoft Word 2013 has a citation tool under the References tab:
Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism - Video
Writing: Why Bother?
Researching, Reading, and Writing. Films On Demand. Films Media Group, 2009. Web. 6 Feb. 2015.
Citation Management Tools On the Web
These free web-based tools can help create and manage your citations for your research papers. Always check with your instructor to see if it is okay to use these.
- MyBibFree citation generator with no ads.
- BibMeBibliography maker that auto-fills. Includes MLA, APA and Chicago. It is recommended to use IE or Google Chrome with BibMe, rather than Firefox.
- KnightciteFree resource from Calvin College that allows you to create bibliographies in MLA, APA and Chicago styles. You can also set up a personal account to save citations, manage files, and export bibliographies to Word.
Library Databases & Citations
Many of the Madison College Library subscription databases offer internal citation generators:
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CQ Researcher -- look for the CiteNow! tab at the top of the report
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Ebsco databases -- look for the Cite link in the "Tools" box
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Opposing Viewpoints -- look for the Citation Tools link in the "Tools" box
Citation & Plagiarism Books
Check the 808 section of the circulating and reference stacks for books that can help in the process of writing papers and properly documenting sources.
What Every Student Should Know about Citing Sources with MLA Documentation by
This easy-to-use guide covers the essentials for documentation according to the rules of the Modern Language Association (MLA). It provides a comprehensive listing of both in-text and works cited models for a wide variety of print, electronic, and online sources. Included too are frequently asked questions about MLA style and guidelines for formatting research papers.
Call Number: 808.027 G816 (Reedsburg, Truax)ISBN: 0321447379Publication Date: 2006-06-01
What Every Student Should Know about Avoiding Plagiarism by Call Number: 808 ST839 ( Reedsburg, & Truax)ISBN: 0321446895Publication Date: 2006-06-13
Guide to Mla Documentation by Call Number: 808.02 T831G 2010 (Truax)ISBN: 0618967893Publication Date: 2009-06-08
What Every Student Should Know about Citing Sources with APA Documentation by Call Number: 808.06615 AN545 (Truax)ISBN: 0205499236Publication Date: 2006-07-10
