Citation form
Before we begin with why and how to cite, let’s make it clear that we would rather that you cite other authors’ material selectively; do not quote or paraphrase extensively. We do not want papers that are simply a pastiche of other people's ideas; we want to read the development of your ideas. When you do directly quote another author you need to do so self-consciously. That is, in most cases you will need to signal to your reader why you are bringing this author’s words into your text.
Besides avoiding the trials of plagiarism, why would you want to directly quote an author? We would like to encourage you to do so in two circumstances. First, the author has expressed an idea in a flawless manner: you simply can’t improve on it. In this case it would be appropriate to let the author express what you may be struggling to articulate. However, you would want to let another writer’s words take the place of yours rarely; after all, you are the author of this paper. Second, the author has expressed concepts in a provocative way, but this quotation does not stand alone. In this case you will need to explain or discuss why you are using this quotation; how does this quotation contribute to the point you are making in your paragraph? It is bad writing to simply let this kind of quotation take the place of your own words.
How do you correctly cite a source?
Note that I have followed the form given in The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993).
If you are using someone else’s words or ideas, you will want to acknowledge your source by inserting a note number in your text directly after a quotation, directly after a specific idea, or at the end of a paragraph that contains a number of points from one source, or a number of sources that you will specify in your note. If you are using a computer program, it will automatically number your notes for you, and will "keep track of them"; it will re-number your notes if you move your text around, so you needn't worry about that.
Occasionally you may want to include a lengthy quotation in your paper. If you quote more than approximately five lines then you need to follow a different format than simply putting the quotation within quotation marks. For these long quotations you need to: indent, single-space and omit quotation marks.
One type of source is a book. Here is the information you need to cite when you cite a book. We have bolded the particulars you will need to cite most often.
author's full name, or editor or editors’ full name
full title of the book, including subtitle if there is one,
separated from main title by a colon; either underlined or in italics
translator, if there is one
edition, if not the first
volume, if using a multi-volume work, if citing a single volume; total
number if multi-volume work
title of individual volume, if applicable
series title, if applicable, and volume number within series
facts of publication: city, publisher, and date
page number(s) in note and sometimes in bibliography (when you
are citing a chapter in a book of collected essays)
Here are some examples of book citations, in note and bibliography form.
Please realize that the form for note and bibliography citation is different,
but that the form for end or foot notes is the same.
note:
1. Lucy R. Lippard, Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (New York: Pantheon Books, 1990), 36.
Second citation (or more): Lippard, Mixed Blessings, 77.
bibliography:
Lippard, Lucy R. Mixed Blessings: New Art in
a Multicultural America. New York: Pantheon Books, 1990.
note:
2. Walker Evans and James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (New York: Ballantine Books, 1939), 143-4.
Second (or more) citation: Evans and Agee, Let Us Now Praise, 99.
Bibliography:
Evans, Walker and James Agee. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. New York: Ballantine Books, 1939.
if the book has an editor rather than an author:
note:
3. Jacinto Quirarte, ed., Chicano Art History: Selected Readings (San Antonio: Research Center for the Arts and Humanities, 1984), 12, 54-55.
Second (or more) citation: Quirarte, ed. Chicano Art History,
88.
bibliography:
Quirarte, Jacinto, ed. Chicano Art History: Selected Readings. San Antonio: Research Center for the Arts and Humanities, 1984.
If you are citing an essay in a book:
Note:
4. W.T. Chase, "Bronze Casting in China: A Short Technical History," in The Great Bronze Age of China, A Symposium, ed. George Kuwayama (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1983), 119.
Second or later citation: Chase, "Bronze Casting in China," 102.
Bibliography:
Chase, W.T. "Bronze Casting in China: A Short Technical History." In The Great Bronze Age of China, A Symposium, edited by George Kuwayama, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1983.
When citing journal articles you need to include this information:
author
article title -- in quotation marks
journal title -- underlined or in italics
volume number
year of publication
page numbers
Here is an example of a journal citation.
note:
4. Daniel Orth Bell, "New Identification in Raphael's School of Athens," Art Bulletin 77 (1995): 639, 645-46.
Second and later citations: Bell, "New Identification," 99.
bibliography:
Bell, Daniel Orth. "New Identification in Raphael's School of Athens." Art Bulletin 77 (1995): 638-46.
You can take your documentation a little farther than simply noting the source for a quotation or idea. In a note you can also acknowledge other sources on the idea you are discussing. You may also include a digression from your text. Perhaps you feel strongly that you'd like to make a point about your topic that doesn't really further your argument, but is nevertheless informative -- this is the place to include that kind of information.
We have tried to include here only examples that you will likely need
to address. Sometimes you may have more complicated citations --
if you need to cite something for which you do not see a format here, please
ask your professor and/or consult The Chicago Manual of Style.