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Education (Special): Citing Sources

Citation Formatting

You will want to follow your instructor's expectations when choosing which citation format to use. The SMSU Library's Citation help link provides recommended resources to use as well as tools that can help you create citations.

Print Copies

We have print copies of these major citation formats at the Reference Desk. These copies are for in-house use only (although we do have one circulating copy as well as older editions that are available for checkout).

  • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. (APA)
    Location: REF BF76.7 .P83 2010
  • MLA Handbook, 8th ed. (MLA)
    Location: REF LB2369 .G53 2016 
  • A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th ed. (Turabian)
    Location: REF LB2369 .T8 2007
  • The ACS Style Guide
    Location: REF QD8.5 .A25 2006
  • The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (Chicago)
    Location: REF Z253 .U69 2010

Shortcuts

OneSearch as well as most of the databases provides shortcuts to citations. When you identify a book or article you'll likely use in your paper or speech, look for a shortcut to the citation for that resource.  It's usually there...and it can be a great time saver!

Note that the citations are not always 100% correct, but they are a good starting point and have the basic information you need to create a citation. Usually the errors have to do with capitalization, italics/underlining, or punctuation.  Double-check them!

Writing Center

Writing Center logo

Take advantage of SMSU's Writing Center. It's housed on the 5th floor of the Library, but is also accessible online! This is a free service for SMSU students. Click the logo for more information.