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Citation Styles and Academic Formatting

Learn how to properly cite sources and format academic papers using APA, MLA, Chicago, and other citation styles. This guide includes step-by-step tutorials, templates, and formatting guidelines for student and professional papers.

📚 Citation Styles and Academic Formatting

Welcome to your complete guide for citing sources and formatting academic papers at Marian University. Whether you're writing your first college paper or working on a dissertation, you'll find the resources you need here.

Why is formatting important?

Proper formatting isn't just about following rules—it's about making your ideas clear and accessible to your readers. Good formatting:

  • Creates a professional, polished appearance
  • Helps readers navigate your work efficiently
  • Ensures consistency across academic disciplines
  • Makes your research more credible and trustworthy

This guide will help you:

  • Format papers according to academic standards
  • Cite sources correctly in various styles
  • Access official style guides and templates
  • Find writing and citation support

💡 Pro Tip: Consistent formatting allows readers to focus on your ideas rather than getting distracted by presentation!

❓ Why Cite Sources?

You get your research assignment from your instructor and they require that you cite your sources. Maybe they want you to use APA or MLA, or some other style like Chicago, AMA, or ASA. What does this really mean?

 

Citing your sources...

  • Adds to your credibility and supports your ideas!
  • Helps your reader find the sources you reference to read for themselves
  • Ensures the accuracy of scientific and scholarly knowledge
  • Protects and acknowledges intellectual property rights

 

When should you cite?

Direct Quotations 

  • When you use the author's exact words
  • Must include page numbers (when available)
  • Should be used sparingly and purposefully

Paraphrasing

  • When you summarize someone else's words or ideas
  • When you put complex ideas into your own words
  • Even when you significantly change the wording

Facts & Statistics

  • When you mention something that is not common knowledge
  • When using specific data or research findings
  • When referencing historical dates or events that aren't widely known

Visual Elements

  • When you use pictures, charts, and graphics that someone else created
  • When you adapt someone else's visual content
  • When you include data visualizations from other sources

💡 Pro Tip: When in doubt, cite! It's better to over-cite than to risk plagiarism.

📋 Program/Major → Typical Style Guide

Business & Leadership → APA 7th Edition
Education → APA 7th Edition
Nursing & Health Sciences → APA 7th Edition
Psychology & Social Sciences → APA 7th Edition
English & Literature → MLA 9th Edition
History → Chicago 17th Edition
Biology → CSE
Chemistry → ACS
Engineering → IEEE

💡 Pro Tip: Not sure which style to use? Check your syllabus or ask your instructor!