What is a Citation?

A citation is a reference to any item (book, journal article, dissertation, archival manuscript, newspaper editorial, report, website, musical composition, etc.) which clearly identifies the source in which the full-text of the item is to be found.  A citation provides sufficient information to acknowledge the author and locate the item.

The information in a citation is fairly standard, but the order may change depending on the type of item being cited and the style manual you are using.  Citations include:

• the author(s)
• the title of the item
• the publication information 

Sometimes an abstract or short summary describing the main idea or content of a work will be included with the citation.

A Basic Journal Article Citation

This is an example of a basic citation using the 6th edition of the MLA Handbook for this article which was published in the journal American Libraries.

A Basic Book Citation

This is an example of a basic citation for this book using the 6th edition of the MLA Handbook as a style manual. Information for a book citation may be found on the book’s title page and copyright page.

Consult a style manual for additional formats of citations, such as citations for books with multiple authors or editors, newspapers, anonymous articles, etc.

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