To avoid plagiarism, you must cite any information and ideas that are not your own. Style guides provide examples of the correct format for creating citations along with general information on writing research papers. There are many different style guides in existence, developed for use with specific subjects such as the humanities, social sciences, medicine, law, chemistry, and the sciences. Before beginning your paper, you should ask your instructor which style should be used for your paper.
The links below will provide you with specific examples of how to cite sources and prepare a document according to the 7th Edition (2009) of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. This is the style guide most frequently used when writing in the liberal arts and humanities.
These resources are based on the 16th edition (2010) of the Chicago Manual of Style.
These links will give you information on citing sources according to the 7th edition of A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate Turabian.
The links below are to citation generators. These are sites that allow you to add citation information to a form and submit it, and then receive a properly formatted citation in the style of your choosing. They work for APA, MLA, and other major citation styles.
NOTE: Be sure to check the references generated by these tools against a style manual or other credible source.