What is a citation and how many should you use in a paper?
Answer
What is a citation?
A citation is the way you tell your readers that material in your work came from another source. The citation helps the reader find that source again, and usually includes:
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names of authors or editors
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the title of the work
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the name and location of the company that published your copy of the source
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the date your copy was published or the date you retrieved the information
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the page numbers of the material you are borrowing or a URL linking to the source
What's the difference between a reference list, works cited page, or other kind of citation?
The citation helps your reader locate a particular source of information.
A citation style describes exactly what you need to include in a citation, as well as how to order, format, and punctuate the citation. APA, MLA, and Chicago are commonly-used citation styles. Academic disciplines usually have their own preferred citation styles, and your professor will usually tell you which style they prefer you to use.
A reference list or works cited page is a list of all the sources that are referenced in a paper, presentation, or other project, usually in alphabetical order.
An in-text citation occurs in the body of your paper, and is designed to give the reader just enough information to find the full source in your reference list. Different citation styles format in-text citations differently, but they often only include an author's name and a year of publication.
How many citations should I use?
You should use as many sources as you need to write your argument. Sometimes you are told how many sources you should include in an assignment. For example, you may be asked to find 5-8 peer reviewed journal articles on your topic. In that case, your reference list will need to have your 5-8 article citations listed. Within your paper, you will use an in-text citation whenever you borrow an idea, paraphrase, or quote from your sources. You will cite each of your sources at least once, but you may end up citing a source more than once, too.
For more information on different citations styles, see the York Library guide on citing sources.