MLA and APA Citation Help
When you utilize sources for an assignment or paper, it is important for you to cite the information correctly in order to avoid accusations of plagiarism. There are two main style guides used for writing academic papers, MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association). There is a third style that you may be exposed to in college called Chicago, but you will most likely not use that while at Spruce Creek. MLA is mainly used for liberal arts and humanities courses while APA is used for research courses like psychology. MLA is the format most freqently used at SCHS, but check with your instructor to be sure you are using the correct format. In addition, be sure that you are aware of any specific assignment guidelines. Your instructor may have a few preferences that differ from the standard style.
MyBib
MyBib is my favorite! It is completely free and you can create an account and save your works cited as you go. It is designed to help students properly credit the sources used in any format. Its primary goal is to make it so easy for student researchers to cite their information sources, so that there is virtually no reason not to cite. There is even a Google Chrome extension!
Easy Bib
EasyBib uses the 8th version of MLA (it also offers APA, but you must pay for the service to use APA). Select WHAT KIND of source you are citing (newspaper, magazine, etc,) then whether it is print, online or from an online database and fill in the blanks. You have to watch a commercial for each citation you create.
KnightCite Citation Service
KnightCite is a project of Heckman Library, Calvin College. It is a free resource that can be used to create citations in MLA, APA and Chicago formats for many types of print and electronic resources. You can even register for an account for free without being a student.
General Tips
Remember: Garbage In/ Garbage Out! If you don’t type in the right information for the title, author, etc. the format will be correct, but your citation will be wrong! If you use an on-line database like Proquest, there is a button that will give you the citation in the correct format- use it!