Identify the source type (book, journal article, website, etc.)
Use the required citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)
Include the author’s last name and the publication year for APA (e.g., (Smith, 2020))
Include the author’s last name and page number for MLA (e.g., (Smith 45))
For APA direct quotes, include page number or other locator (e.g., (Smith, 2020, p. 45))
For MLA direct quotes, include page number (e.g., (Smith 45))
Use “et al.” when there are multiple authors (APA: first author + et al., MLA: first author + et al.)
If there is no author, use the organization name or the title (shortened) in parentheses
If there is no date, use “n.d.” (APA) or omit/adjust per style requirements (e.g., (Smith n.d.))
For multiple works by the same author in one year (APA), add letters (e.g., (Smith, 2020a); (Smith, 2020b))
For multiple citations in one set of parentheses, separate with semicolons (APA/MLA)
Place the citation at the end of the sentence before the period (APA/MLA varies by style—follow your required style)
Use the author name in the sentence for a narrative citation (e.g., Smith (2020) states that…) and include the year/page as required
Use short titles or organizational names when author is missing (follow style rules)
Match every in-text citation to a full reference entry in the reference/bibliography list