Citing an article in an essay is the process of giving credit to an article used in the essay you just wrote. Here, we are not talking about blog articles. We mean academic articles published in databases like Google Scholar or Ebscohost. By citing an article in an essay, you show appreciation to the writer or organization that wrote the essay. Additionally, it is a way of supporting an argument in an essay with reference to previous research. This guide will take you through the process of citing an article in an essay. If you still have a problem with citations, you can try our essay writing service.
Citation Guideline For Articles In An Essay
There are several citation styles that you can use to cite an article in your essay. The choice of which one of these styles to use will depend on your institutional guidelines. Some institutions demand that a particular citation style, e.g. Harvard, be used for citing articles. Additionally, the type of essay that you are writing will influence the citation style you go with. So, which are these citation styles and how do you cite an article in an essay in each?
Main Citation Styles
For most institutions, they will use any of the following three main citation styles; APA, MLA or Chicago citation styles. Each one of these styles has its guidelines on how you are to cite an article in an essay. Although they differ, they also have many similarities, which make it easy to recall as you write an essay.
How To Cite An Article In An Essay In APA Citation Style
There is a very high chance that in your academic life, at one point or another, you will have to cite an article using APA citation style. It is important to keep in mind that for each in-text citation for APA or any other style, you should have a corresponding entry in your reference list.
To cite an article in APA, first, identify the name of the author or institution that owns the article you want to cite. Then follow this with a comma and then the year of publishing. E.g. (Williams, 2007). For instances where you are using direct quotes, it is advisable to include the page number as well e.g. (Williams, 2007, p.17). Remember to separate the year and the page number by use of a comma. For the word page, use a ‘pg.’ abbreviation followed by a period and then a numeral(s).
Should the article be a short one-a page or less, and you want to cite a direct quote in it, you can mention the paragraph. For example, (Williams, 2007, para.3). This method of citing a direct quotation will also follow that a period comes after the year of publishing before the abbreviation ‘para’ for a paragraph. A period follows and then a numeral.
How To Cite An Article In An Essay In MLA Citation Style
The MLA in-text citation style is almost similar to the APA in-text citation style discussed above. The main difference between these two styles of citing an article in an essay is the use of a comma between the name of the author and publication year.
When citing an article in an essay using MLA style, you do not use a comma. You will mention the last name of the author, followed by the year of publication without any comma in between. E.g. (Williams 2007).
In the absence of the author’s name, you will use the title of the work. For example, (Entomology 2009). While using this second method, maintain the formatting used in writing the title of the article you are citing in your essay.
How To Cite An Article In Chicago Citation Style
Like the other two citation styles, Chicago also follows a similar format for citing an article in an essay. The surname of the author will come first, followed by the year of publication. There is no comma between the two. E.g. (Williams 2007). For specificity and direct quotes, you can add the page number or paragraph numbers after the year of publication after adding a comma e.g. (Williams, 2007, no.6).
Reference List
It is important that for each article you cite in your essay, you record a corresponding entry in the reference list at the end of your essay. Failure to do this will leave the reader without a means of validating your source. Additionally, a reference list at the end of your article offers a reader a chance to explore the topic further.
An Example Of How To Cite An Article In An Essay
How do you cite a paragraph?
You cite a paragraph or paragraphs in the first sentence by stating where the materials have been sourced. How to write it will depend on what you want to discuss. When you cite a paragraph verbatim from a different source add in quotation marks and a reference to the source at the end.
