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This guide provides instruction for formatting footnotes and citations in text for three common citation styles used in research papers. Your professors will generally let you know if they prefer that you use a particular style. If they do not, the following guidelines should help:

• APA style is used for papers dealing with psychology, education, and other social sciences.
• MLA style is used for papers dealing with literature, the arts, and the humanities.
• The Chicago Manual of Style is a well-known, highly-regarded style guide used in the publishing world.

For the general guide to citing sources (for creating Works Cited pages, etc.), please see the Citing Sources page. Print copies of the above style manuals are available at the Reference Desk and on permanent reserve at the Circulation Desk. If you need assistance in locating the style manuals, or have any questions regarding your research, please see a librarian.

APA Format | MLA Format | The Chicago Manual of Style

Footnoting - General Tips

While the footnotes for the three citation styles below may differ in formatting, the following description is common to all: Footnotes are brief notes that 1) appear at the bottom of a page, 2) may expand on information in the text, or 3) specify the source of a quotation or idea of someone other than the author. Each footnote should generally communicate a single idea.

APA Format

Tips for APA formatting of Footnotes

• Footnotes should be listed numerically in the order that they appear in the paper.
• Footnotes are designated in the text of the paper with a superscript Arabic numeral. (Example¹ )
• The footnote number follows all punctuation marks except the dash. (A footnote number should only appear inside parentheses if the citation refers to the information inside the parentheses.²)
• Do not use a footnote in a text heading. (Example: APA Format³ )
• In addition to footnotes at the bottom of each page, create a separate page titled Footnotes, centered on the page, and in upper and lowercase as shown. List all of the footnotes together, double-spaced. Be sure that the footnote numbers on this page match the footnote numbers that appear throughout the paper.
• Indent the first line of each footnote about a one-half inch (5-7 spaces).

For detail on formatting other types of notes (author, copyright, end, table, etc.) see the print copy of the APA style manual.

Citing in text (or Reference citations) using APA

In APA style, citations are provided within the text of the paper to briefly identify sources for readers and help them find the source of the citations provided in the Reference List that appears at the end of the paper. Citations within the text also help clarify what information is paraphrased or quoted directly. APA citations provide the author's last name and the year of publication in parentheses.

Examples:

One Author

Provide the author's last name and year of publication for the work.

In a recent report on obesity in adolescents (Stevens, 2005)

If providing the author's name or publication year within the narrative, include only the missing information in parentheses.

Stevens (2005) looked at the increase in cases of obesity among adolescents

In 2005 Stevens looked at the increases in cases of obesity among adolescents

Multiple Authors

For two authors, always provide both names every time the work is cited in text. Join the names with an ampersand.

as reported (Sampson & Davis, 2002)

In the narrative, use the word and to join the names

as Sampson and Davis (2002) argued

For three or more authors (up to five), list all authors the first time the work is cited along with the publication year,

Sampson, Davis, Stevens, and Johnson (2001) agreed

In later citations, only include the last name of the first author. Follow the author's name with et al. (Latin for "and others"):

Sampson et al. (2001) agreed (for first appearance of this abbreviated citation in text)

For six or more authors, list only the first author followed by et al. and the year for all for every instance of the citation in text.

Associations, Corporations, Government Agencies (Groups as Authors)

Spell out the names of the groups for the first citation in text, and abbreviate (in brackets) later citations. Academic institutions should always be spelled out in full.

First citation:

(Center for Disease Control [CDC], 1996)

Later citations:

(CDC, 1996)

Works with No Authors

If a work has no author, cite the first few words of the title and the year. Capitalize the first letter of each word and do not include initial articles. If the title refers to an article or book chapter, put the title in quotation marks. If the title refers to a book, periodical or report, italicize the title.

the book College Bound Seniors (1979)

article on obesity ( Study Finds, 2005)

If the work's author is anonymous, follow the word Anonymous with a common and publication year.

article on obesity (Anonymous, 2005)

Religious and Major Works

For ancient Greek and Roman works and the Bible, cite in text only. Indicate the version used in the first citation. When citing parts of these works, use the specific numbering provided (book, chapter, verse, etc.). Do not use the page numbers:

Psalms 23:4 (Revised Standard Version)

In the cases of some classical works, the publication year may be inapplicable. If the work is very old, cite the year of translation used:

(Plato, trans. 1940)

Specific Parts of a Source

When citing specific parts of a source (required when quoting directly) indicate page and chapter numbers in text.

(Sampson & Davis, 2002, chap. 5)

(Lewis, 1995, p.458)

Stevens (2005) found the rise in obesity among adolescents to be higher in urban areas than...(p.89)

If page numbers are not available from online sources provide paragraph symbol or heading followed by paragraph number.

(Jackson, 2002?para. symbol?7)

Tips for MLA formatting of Footnotes

Begin footnotes at the bottom of the page, two doubles spaces below the text.

• Number footnotes consecutively, beginning with 1.
  
• Use superscript Arabic numerals (Example:¹ )
  
• Footnote numbers follow all punctuation marks except dashes. (A footnote number should only appear inside parentheses if the citation refers to the information inside the parentheses.² )
  
• Do not use a footnote in a text heading. (Example: MLA Format³ )
  
• Single space footnotes and but use a double-space between them.
  
• If a footnote continues to the next page, insert a double space below the last line of text and add a solid line across the new page. Continue the footnote one double space below the solid line. Use another double space to separate the continuing footnote from any footnotes for the new page.
  
• If using footnotes in MLA style, it is not generally necessary to create a separate list of works cited. Check with your professor.

Citing in text (or parenthetical documentation) using MLA

In MLA style, the references in text should clearly correspond to specific sources in the list of works cited. For citing in text, provide the last name of author and page number(s), in parentheses. No punctuation appears between author and publication year. The parenthetical documentation should go as near as possible to the information being cited and precede any punctuation concluding the sentence or phrase containing the cited information.

Examples:

Author's Name in Reference

This position has already been taken (Stevens 200-202).

Author's Name in Text

Others, like Sampson and Davis (74-80), take a different approach.

Work by up to Three Authors

Peterson, Hollis, and North agreed with this conclusion (186).

Two References from Same Work

Cloonan suggests this strategy (40-45, 57).

Two works by Different Authors

(Atwood 34, Gilman 12)

Multivolume Works

Reference to volumes and pages

(Brinkley 5:57-64)

Reference to an entire volume

(Jackson, vol. 20)

In text reference to an entire volume

In volume 20, Jackson recommends

Corporate Authors

(United Nations, Economic Commission for Africa 104-111)

Works with No Authors

If a work has no author, use the title of the work or a shorter version of the title. If abbreviating the title, do not include initial articles and begin with the word by which it is alphabetized on the Works Cited list.

as announced by the national council (Report 40).

Online Sources, No Page Numbers

(Peters, Point of View, par. 12)

Religious and Major Works

Biblical References

(Rev. 4.6-8)

Novels

(Dostoevsky 1; pt.1, ch.1)

The Chicago Manual of Style

Tips for Chicago Manual of Style formatting of Footnotes

• Begin footnotes at the bottom of the page, two doubles spaces below the text.
• Number footnotes consecutively, beginning with 1. Indent the second line of each footnote about one-half inch (5-7 spaces).
• Use superscript arabic numerals (Example:¹ )
• Footnote numbers follow all punctuation marks except dashes. (A footnote number should only appear inside parentheses if the citation refers to the information inside the parentheses.² )
• Do not use a footnote in a text heading. (Example: Chicago Manual of Style³ )
• Single space footnotes and but use a double-space between them.
• If a footnote continues to the next page, insert a double space below the last line of text and add a solid line across the new page. Continue the footnote one double space below the solid line. Use another double space to separate the continuing footnote from any footnotes for the new page.
• A note that applies to more than one location in a paper, should be cross-referenced. (Example:³ See note 2 above.) A footnote number should not be duplicated out of sequence.
• If using footnotes in Chicago style, it may be necessary to create a separate bibliography. Check with your professor.

For detail on using footnotes and endnotes together see the print copy of the Chicago Manual of Style.

Citing in text using the Chicago Manual of Style

The basic citation form in the Chicago Manual of Style is the author-date system. For citing in text, provide the last name of author and publication year, in parentheses. No punctuation appears between the author and publication year, and abbreviations like ed. or trans. are usually omitted. The parenthetical documentation should go as near as possible to the information being cited and precede any punctuation concluding the sentence or phrase containing the cited information.

Examples:

One Author

This position has already been taken (Stevens 2005).

Author's name in text citation

Others, like Sampson and Davis (2005), take a different approach.

Work by up to Three Authors

Peterson, Hollis, and North agreed with this conclusion (2006).

Two Works by Different Authors

(Atwood 1997; Gilman 1992; Shaw and Andrews 1998)

Multivolume Works

Reference to volumes and pages

(Brinkley 1987, 5:57-64)

Reference to an entire volume

(Jackson 1995, vol. 20)

In Text Reference to an Entire Volume

In volume 20, Jackson recommends (1995)

Corporate Authors

(United Nations Economic Commission for Africa 1987)

Works with No Authors

If a work has no author, use the title of the work or a shorter version of the title. If abbreviating the title, do not include initial articles and begin with the word by which it is alphabetized on the Works Cited list.

(Anon. 1642)

Online Sources, No Page Numbers

(Peters 2003, under Point of View )

Religious and Classic Works

Biblical References

(Rev. 4:6-8)

Novels

(James 1909)

prepared by Beatrice Pulliam, Reference Librarian, Summer 2007
Added to the library web site: 14 August 2007

See also Citing Sources on other web sites