About Academic Citation and Writing
This guide introduces a few of the academic style manuals used for writing, documenting, and publishing academic papers. It is divided into two main parts. The first section, Guides to Citation, lists works that provide general and subject-specific help with different documentation formats. Some of the more well-known of documentation formats are those used by the Modern Languages Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA), and those presented in the Chicago Manual of Style and A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, also known as Turabian citation style. All of the works included under Guides to Citation provide advice on writing and composition in addition to the information they provide on citation, but are most useful, and most commonly used, for help with footnotes, endnotes, bibliographies, and other documentation.
The remainder of the guide presents those titles in the library's collection that are concerned with writing styles common to particular disciplines. The style manuals listed here contain information about writing composition, format for scientific illustrations and tables, use of art and music as evidence, and more. Some, but not all, provide information on style for bibliographies and footnotes.
To determine which style format to follow be sure to ask your professors which specific citation and style manuals they prefer. In some disciplines a variety of manuals may be considered as acceptable guides to format and style. For example, scholars of anthropology often follow the format proposed by the American Anthropological Association, but may also follow the format of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The library also has a guide to Citing Electronic Documents, which offers links to other helpful guides and examples for citing electronic resources. Again, it is vital to ask your professors what specific documentation style to use for electronic resources, as they may indicate a preference.
If you can not find a particular style manual or if you have any questions regarding citation format, ask a Reference Librarian for assistance. Note also that you can find help with documentation style at the Center for Teaching and Learning.
In addition to the sources below, you may want to consult Duke University's guide, Assembling a List of Works Cited in Your Paper, which gives examples of several different citation formats for a variety of materials.
For a very quick summary of just a few citation styles and types, see this guide from the library on basic citations.
Honor Council and Honor Code
Lawrence is proud of its long-standing tradition of a student-run honor system. Potential violations include failing to distinguish carefully between one's own work and material from any other source (e.g., written materials, oral sources, web pages, or other data available through computer resources).
See these pages for more on the Honor Council and Honor Code.
Contact the Librarians
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Need Writing Assistance?
The reference librarians are happy to assist you with your questions about research and citation. Contact us in person or use the link to ask a Reference Librarian.
The Center for Teaching and Learning provides assistance with your writing questions. They can help you make a good paper great!
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