Simplified Citations

Simplified Citations

Refer to the Library's Citing Sources information for how to use the standard citation styles (MLA, APA, etc).

To develop a simple bibliography (citation list), record the basic information about the information resource:

Standard Elements of a Citation

For books and articles:

  • Title (of book or article and journal)
  • Author
  • Publication Date or Date of Magazine Issue
  • Publisher or source (journal or magazine title)

Additional information for electronic sources such as Web pages:

  • The URL (Web address)

Tips:

  • Organize your list alphabetically by author's last name. If there is no author listed, lead with the title of the source/web page.
  • Make sure to closely examine the source for all of the citation pieces. Don't skimp!
  • When the information is not available, such as a date on a web page, skip it. Don't make stuff up!
  • There's always a title for a web page. Look for the title at the top of the article page or at the very top of your browser window. If you can't figure it out, contact a librarian or your instructor.
  • Make sure you include the URL for all web pages but leave off the [http://]
  • Remember you are essentially making a map to your sources for the reader.
  • The period comes after the (in-text citation). See examples below
Examples of sources using the simplified style

BOOK:
Smith, Jane. Book about some important stuff. Cool Press. 2017.
WEB PAGE, NO DATE:
Doe, John. Important article. importantstuff.com/article
WEB PAGE, NO AUTHOR, WITH DATE:
Good information. 2016. goodinfo.org/page
ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRY WITH NAMED AUTHOR:
Wong, Amy. Really important information. In: Encyclopedia of awesome things. Mars University Press. 3rd ed. 2017.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRY WITHOUT NAMED AUTHOR:
Important information. In: Awesome encyclopedia. Mars University Press. 2016.
ARTICLE FROM JOURNAL/MAGAZINE:
Fry, Phillip. An article about something important. Futurama Magazine. April 2017.
ARTICLE FROM WEBSITE, NO DATE:
Fry, Phillip. A web article about important things. importantthings.com/article
WEB PAGE NO AUTHOR, NO DATE:
Webpage title. informationmightbesketchy.com
IMAGE FROM BOOK:
Conrad, Hermes. Image Title. In: Book about important stuff. Smith, Jane. Cool Press. 2017.
IMAGE on WEBSITE, NO TITLE:
Hill, Hank. Untitled. 2016. imagesbyhank.com/image

Example of in-text citations using the simplified style

Books and Articles:
Direct quote: Smith (2017) notes "important stuff happened" (p. 27).
Paraphrase: Fry (2017) discussed important things that happened.
Web Sources:
Paraphrase, with author, no date: All kinds of important stuff was discussed (Doe).
Direct quote, no author, with date: Things happened that "were extremely important" (Good information, 2016).
Paraphrase no author: According to Good information (2016), extremely important things happened...
Image reference: The untitled image by Hill (2016) depicts something that I'm writing about.

Example Simplified Bibliography

Bibliography
Conrad, Hermes. Image Title. In: Book about important stuff. Smith, Jane. Cool Press. 2017.
Doe, John. Important article. importantstuff.com
Fry, Phillip. An article about something important. Futurama Magazine. April 2017.
Fry, Phillip. A web article about important things. importantthings.com/article
Good information. 2016. goodinfo.org
Hill, Hank. Untitled. 2016. imagesbyhank.com/image
Important information. In: Awesome encyclopedia. Mars University Press. 2016.
Smith, Jane. A book about some important stuff. Cool Press. 2017.
Web page title. informationmightbesketchy.com
Wong, Amy. Really important information. In: Encyclopedia of awesome things. Mars University Press. 3rd ed. 2017.