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Intro to College Research

Formatting Styles

There are a number of different formatting styles and some of the most popular ones used at RCBC include MLA, APA, and Chicago styles.

These styles tell you how to set up what your paper should look like 

  • What font(s) are permitted 
  • What size the font should be 
  • How to set up a cover page
  • Headers and footers
  • What the in-text citations look like
  • What the Works Cited, Reference, or Bibliography should look like

A works cited or reference page helps your audience find the information you used for your paper.

Make sure to check which citation style your professor wants you to use and review the technical How-Tos on the left hand side.

MLA 9th Citation Example

MLA 9th Edition Citation Format: Begin the entry with the author's last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name, as presented in the work. The title of the source should follow the author's name. Depending upon the type of source. It should be listed in italics or quotation marks. If you are using a website, the website title should be follow the title of the source and be italicized. The name of the publisher should follow. The MLA 8 edition also added the rule of including both volume and number of journal publications like "Vol.24, no.3". Next cite the Publication Date in Day Month Year formatting. The city of publication is not necessary. Finally, add the URL. Always make sure to include the complete address for a web site except for the HTTP part. In-text Citation: Last Name comma page number in parentheses. Example in Bibliography: Einarsdottir comma Greta period. Quote The Art of Housekeeping period unquote. Italicized Iceland review publishing comma un-italicize 4 Jan 2019 comma http://www.icelandreview.com/society/the-art-of-housekeeping/ period. In-text Citation: Einarsdottir in parantheses.

The examples below show you how to cite five basic source types. Click on an entry to get more information, as well as links to posts with more examples. For hundreds of sample entries by format, check out the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. 

Books

Book by One Author

Mantel, Hilary. Wolf Hall. Picador, 2010.

Book by an Unknown Author

Beowulf. Translated by Alan Sullivan and Timothy Murphy, edited by Sarah Anderson, Pearson, 2004.

An Edited Book

Sánchez Prado, Ignacio M., editor. Mexican Literature in Theory. Bloomsbury, 2018.

Online Works

Article on a website

Deresiewicz, William. “The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur.” The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2014, theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/ the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-thecreative-entrepreneur/383497/.

Book on a website

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death.” The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, edited by James A. Harrison, vol. 4, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1902, pp. 250-58. HathiTrust Digital Library, hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924079574368.

Journal Article in a Database

Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review, vol. 64, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 69-88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41403188.

Songs, Recordings, and Performances

Song from an Album

Snail Mail. “Thinning.” Habit, Sister Polygon Records, 2016. Vinyl EP. 

Song on a website

Snail Mail. “Thinning.” Bandcamp, snailmailbaltimore.bandcamp.com.

Concert Attended in Person

Beyoncé. The “Formation” World Tour. 14 May 2016, Rose Bowl, Los Angeles.

Movies, Videos, and Television Shows

A Movie Viewed in Person

Opening Night. Directed by John Cassavetes, Faces Distribution, 1977. 

A Movie Viewed Online

Richardson, Tony, director. Sanctuary. Screenplay by James Poe, Twentieth Century Fox, 1961. YouTube, uploaded by LostCinemaChannel, 17 July 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMnzFM_Sq8s.

A Television Show Viewed on Physical Media

“Hush.” 1999. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Season, created by Joss Whedon, episode 10, Mutant Enemy / Twentieth Century Fox, 2003, disc 3. DVD.

Images

A Photograph Viewed in Person

Cameron, Julia Margaret. Alfred, Lord Tennyson. 1866, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

A Painting Viewed Online

Bearden, Romare. The Train. 1975. MOMA, www.moma.org/collection/works/65232?locale=en.

An Untitled Image from a Print Magazine

Karasik, Paul. Cartoon. The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2008, p. 49.

APA Reference

For detailed instructions on how to format citations in APA, see the Citing and Plagiarism guide.

Sample APA Reference Page: Use 1 inch margins. Center and bold the "References" for your title. Include page number. Alphabetize your list of sources and use a .5 inch hanging indent.

APA Quick Citation Guide

Article from a database/journal/periodical Format:    

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C.C. (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical, volume number(issue number), Page range.

Example:

Putwain, D. W., & Aveyard, B. (2018). Is perceived control a critical factor in understanding the negative relationship between cognitive test anxiety and examination performance? School Psychology Quarterly, 33(1), 65-74.

Book  Format:    

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C.C. (Year of publication). Title of work: Subtitle. Publisher.

Example:

Townsend, M.C., & Morgan, K.I. (2017). Essentials of psychiatric mental health nursing: Concepts of care in evidence-based practice. F. A. Davis Co.

Website Format:    

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of webpage. Site name. URL

Example:

Cherry, K. (2020, March 25). Test anxiety symptoms, causes, and treatments. Very well mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-test-anxiety-2795368

Chicago Author-Date

For detailed instructions on how to format citations in Chicago (Author-Date), see the Citing and Plagiarism guide. If you are using Chicago (Notes-Bibliography), see this part of the Citing and Plagiarism guide.

Sample Chicago (Author-Date) Reference Page. Use 1-1.5 inches for the margins. Include page numbders. Have two line breaks after the title and once between sources. Alphabetize your sources and use a hanging indent.

Chicago (Author-Date) Quick Citation Guide

Basic Book Reference

Author's last name, Author's first name.Year of publication. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher.

 Book by multiple authors Example

Parmet, Herbert, S., and Marie B. Hecht. 1967. Aaron Burr Portrait of an Ambitious Man. New York: Macmillan.

 Book with editor but no author and edition of book Example

Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, ed. 1966. Great Adventures and Explorations. New Rev. ed. New York: Dial Press.

 Chapter from a single author book Example

Bohrer, Melissa Lukeman. 2003. "A Sister in Arms: Molly Pitcher." In Glory, Passion, and Principle, 155-178. New York: Atria Books.  

Edited book with chapters/works by different authors Example

Iseminger, William. 2000. "Mighty Cahokia." In Exploring the Past, edited by James M. Bayman and Miriam T. Stark. Durham: Carolina Academia Press.

Electronic Journal Example

Kunioka, Todd T. and Karen M. McCurdy. 2006. "Relocation and Internment: Civil Rights Lessons from World War II." PS, Political Science & Politics 39, no. 3 (July): 503-511. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1049096506060744. 

Electronic Magazine Example

Campbell, Duncan Andrew. "John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights." South Carolina Historical Magazine, July 2006. 241-243, http://ez-srv.rcbc.edu:2048/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/205020985?accountid=9798.

Online Newspaper Example

Tully, Tracey and Kevin Armstrong. "N.J’s Largest City Shuts Down Again as Virus Cases Surge." New York Times, October 28, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/nyregion/newark-coronavirus-curfew.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage.

Website Example

History.com editors. 2009. "Revolutionary War." History. Last modified September 3, 2019. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history