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MA 311/501: History of Mathematics

Citations & References

To be a responsible researcher and writer, you should always cite your sources. Citing:

  • Shows your reader that you know about your topic;
  • Gives credit to others by acknowledging their ideas;
  • Helps you avoid plagiarism by quoting others' ideas and words; and
  • Allows others to use the same sources you do.

Common Citation Styles

Different disciplines use different citation styles. Be sure to follow the citation style of your discipline meticulously and always check with your professor for their preferred style. For guidance on common citation styles, see the links below.

Citation Help

If you need help with citation, make an appointment with a librarian who specializes in your citation style. You can email me for help with APA or MLA citations. For quick questions, you can chat with a librarian at your primary library.

APA Online Resources

The APA Style website provides guidance on style and grammar. Join their free monthly newsletter to receive tips, resources, and updates in your inbox. The APA Style Blog routinely answers questions common questions or addresses pertinent issues regarding their publication manual. See sample student and professional papers the APA Style website. The sample papers come in both PDF and DOCX versions with as well as without annotations.

If your APA Style questions are still unanswered after consulting the sources above, email StyleExpert@apa.org.

Citation Guidelines

Finding a balance between undercitation and overcitation is imperative for writers. Not providing a citation can lead to plagiarism, even self-plagiarism. Providing too many citations can disrupt the flow of your prose and cause challenges for readers using accessibility tools.

Below are some general guidelines when using sources in your paper:

  • As a general rule, you should cite more primary than secondary sources. Acknowledge secondary sources when used in the text and/or citation ("as cited in").
  • Double check that your in-text citations match your reference list exactly.
  • Follow special guidelines for citing the following special sources:

In-Text Citations

APA in-text citations follow the author-date system. Be sure to include a mix of parenthetical and narrative citations.

See the APA guide for examples and special cases when dealing with in-text citations. Use the In-Text Citation Checklist before submitting your paper to ensure you've followed all APA guidelines.

Below are general guidelines for in-text citations:

  • Include the author's surname but not suffixes, such as Jr.
  • Use only the year for the date, even if you know the month and day of publication.
  • If the source does not have a date, use n.d.
  • If the source is not yet published, use in press.
  • If your source is a draft of a manuscript, use the date for when the draft was written, not the date it was or will be published.
  • When citing multiple works in a parenthetical citation, put them in alphabetical order and separate them with a semicolon.
  • When citing multiple works in a narrative citation, they can come in any order.
  • If you are citing specific parts of a source, add information about that specific part after the date.
  • If your source has been translated, reprinted, republished, or reissued, it may have more than one date. In that case, separate the years with a slash (/) and include the earlier one first.
  • Follow APA's guidelines for paraphrasing and direct quotations.

Reference List

When compiling your list of references, be accurate and consistent, following guidelines on the APA guide and below:

  • Alphabetize your list by first author's last name. There should be a direct link between your in-text citation and its reference list entry.
  • Double space your list, using no extra spaces between entries.
  • Use a 0.5" hanging indentation. Your word processor's settings can be set up to do this for you automatically.
  • Be precise when using punctuation within the entries. Punctuation groups information together.
    • Separate the 4 elements of a reference entry (author, date, title, and source) by including a period after each element.
    • Do NOT include a period after DOI or URL, as it could prevent access of the source.
    • Within elements of the reference, use commas or parentheses to separate items.
    • Include parentheses around dates.
  • See information on the use of italics and quotation marks on the APA Style website.

APA Style tailors entries based on the type of source you are citing.

  • See the APA Guide for examples of citations for books, book chapters, ebooks, articles, web content, and other common source types.
  • See the APA Style website for guidance on missing reference information, database information in references, DOIs/URLs, and other types of sources.

Other Useful Chapters in the APA 7 Manual

Chapter 4: Writing Style & Grammar

This chapter provides reminders and guidelines of good writing, including continuity & flow, conciseness & clarity, verbs, pronouns, sentence construction, and improvement strategies.

Chapter 5: Bias-Free Language Guidelines

Use this chapter if you have questions on any of the following topics, as they pertain to writing your article: age, disability, gender, participation in research, racial and ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality.

Chapter 6: Mechanics of Style

Need a refresher from 7th grade English class? Don't know how to present statistics or equations or format a list in your manuscript? Should you spell out a number or use the numeral? This chapter has guidance on punctuation, spelling & hyphenation, capitalization, italics & quotation marks, abbreviations, numbers, statistical and mathematical copy, presentation of equations, and lists.

Chapter 7: Tables and Figures

If you are using any tables or figures in your article, use these chapters as guidelines for formatting.