Philosophy: Cite Sources

The following guidelines are recommended in accordance with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Please check with your supervising professor to see whether strict APA formatting should be observed for your project. 

Formatting Your Main Content

• Double-space the text of your paper.
• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks.
• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
• Indent the first line of paragraphs.
• Number all pages, including the title page and abstract, with arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) on the top right hand corner about an inch from the top of the page.
• Use section headings to designate the different sections of your paper. Center, bold, and capitalize all words in your section headings. If you use subsections, consult the APA Manual 7th edition for additional guidance.

Formatting the Title Page of Your Paper For Student Papers

Note: If you are submitting your paper for a professional publication, there are different requirements for the title page. Consult the APA Manual 7th edition to see how to format title pages for professional papers. Additionally, title page requirements for honors projects may differ from department to department. Please consult your advisor for how to format your title page.

• In the top right corner, insert a page number.
• About one third down the page and centered, include the full title of your paper. Capitalize all words four letters or longer in your title.
• Underneath the title, include your name.
• Underneath your name, include the name of the department to which you are submitting the paper followed by a comma, and then Texas Christian University (Ex: Honors College,  Texas Christian University).
• Underneath the department name and institution, include the course number and name (Ex: HNRS 20633: Video Games and Representation).
• Underneath the course name, include the name of your professor. 
• Underneath your professor's name, include the date the project is due, including the month (spelled out), day, and year.

Formatting Your References Page

• Include page numbers in the top right corner.
• Center the word "References" at the top of the references page.
• Alphabetize all references by authors' last names. Each in-text citation should have a corresponding reference listed on the references page.
• Use a hanging indent for each reference.
• Double-space the entire page

Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of someone else as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source.

If you don't credit the author, you are committing a type of theft called plagiarism.

When you work on a research paper you will probably find supporting material for your paper from works by others. It's okay to use the ideas of other people, but you do need to correctly credit them. When you quote people -- or even when you summarize or paraphrase information found in books, articles or Web pages -- you must acknowledge the original author.

It IS plagiarism when you...

1. Buy or use a term paper written by someone else.
2. Cut and paste passages from the Web, a book or an article and insert them into your paper without citing them. Warning! It is now easy to search and find passages that have been copied from the Web.
3. Use the words or ideas of another person without citing them.
4. Paraphrase that person's words without citing them.

Searchpath material © 2001-2002

Basic MLA Citation Formats

The following guidelines are recommended in accordance with the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. All works cited should use a hanging indent and be double-spaced. For information on citing a source not listed here, please refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

Books with a single author

Works cited page:

Hindman, Sandra. Printing the Written Word: The Social History of Books, Circa 1450-1520. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991. Print.

In-text citation:

(Hindman 52)

Narrative in-text citation:

According to Hindman, ... (52).

Articles in a print journal

Works cited page:

Hamill, Frances. "Some Unconventional Women before 1800: Printers, Booksellers, and Collectors." The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 49.4 (1955): 300-14. Print.

In-text citation:

(Hamill 313)

Narrative in-text citation:

Hamill believes... (313).

Articles from databases

Works cited page:

Palabiyik,Nil. "An Early Case Of The Printer's Self Censorship In Constantinople." Library: The Transactions Of The Bibliographical Society 16.4 (2015): 381-404. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

In-text citation:

(Palabiyik 399)

Narrative in-text citation:

Palabiyik argues... (399).

Articles from the internet

Works cited page:

Colla, Elliott. "How Zaynab Became the First Arabic Novel." History Compass 7.1 (2009): 214-225. Web. 16 March 2016.

In-text citation:

(Colla 220)

Narrative in-text citation:

Colla explains... (220).

Documents or sections in a website

Works cited page:

Evans, Michael. "The History of Print Advertising." eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 15 March, 2016.

In-text citation:

(Evans)

Narrative in-text citation:

Evans describes...

Block Quotes

For quotations that are more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, place quotations in a block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin. Double space the quote. Only indent the first line of the quotation by an additional quarter inch if you are citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks.

General Guidelines:

• Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are recognizable one from another. The font size should be 12 pt.
• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless otherwise instructed by your supervising professor).
• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key.
• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your professor may ask that you omit the number on your first page.)
• Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.
• If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page. Entitle the section Notes (centered, unformatted).

Formatting the First Page of Your Paper

• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.
• Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.
• Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text
• Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
• Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number; number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your professor or department may ask that you omit last name/page number header on your first page. Always follow your department's guidelines.)