Got Questions?

Create your own citations in a variety of styles with NCSU's Citation Builder.

Zotero is a free online citation management tool. If you use Firefox, Zotero is especially convenient. An extension lets you use Zotero right from your browser. New features are constantly in beta.

Style manuals are books that outline the appropriate format for citing the readings you use for your research papers, such as journal articles, books, web pages, interviews, government documents, etc. See below for a list of the basic elements of a citation. Style manuals also review rules of grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.

Librarians can help you cite just about anything, in any style. If you need help, stop by the library or contact a librarian through the box at left.

Most citations include:

• Author(s) (Either a personal author or an organization or corporate author.)
• Title
• Source (Such as place of publication and publisher for books; and title, volume, issue number, and pages of articles for periodicals, including magazines, journals, and newspapers.)
• Date
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for Internet sources

The parts are arranged based on the type of material.  Some types also include additional information.