A works cited page lists all references used in a piece of writing. Different citation formats include APA, MLA, Chicago, AMA, and Turabian, each with specific rules for in-text citations and citation lists. Entries are sorted alphabetically by author last name and indented after the first line. Failure to cite sources is considered plagiarism.
A works cited page is a formatted list of all works referenced in a piece of writing. It is similar to a bibliography, but not exactly the same. While a citation list compiles only those works explicitly referenced within the text, a bibliography includes all consulted works, whether they received in-text citations or not. Whenever a writer uses another author’s ideas, he must give credit to the author within the text and in a reference list, such as works cited. Unless the information used is in the public domain, failure to cite sources is considered plagiarism and can lead to expulsion into academia or professional writing dismissal.
A works cited page starts on a new page at the end of an article. Its margins should be consistent with the rest of the paper. Popular citation formats include American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), Chicago style, American Medical Association (AMA), and Turabian. Each style is used for different writing topics and contains rules for in-text citations and citation lists. APA is used for social sciences and education, MLA is used for humanities, Chicago style is used for history and humanities, AMA is used in pieces focusing on health and medicine and Turabian is designed for general college student use.
APA formatting for a works cited list sorts sources alphabetically by author last names and indents after the first line of each source. A space should be included between each entry. The general format of an APA-style book entry is:
Author’s surname, initials. (Publication date). Book’s title. City of
Publication: Publisher.
For example:
White, E. B. (1952). Charlotte’s network. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
The format of an article entry in an APA style is:
Author’s surname, first initials. (Publication date). Article title. Journal name, volume number, pages used.
MLA requires a cited page of works at the end of a research paper. Like APA, MLA formatting sorts sources alphabetically by author last names and indents after the first line of each source, leaving a space between each listing. The general format of a book entry should be as follows:
Author’s last name, author’s first name. Book’s title. City of publication:
Publisher, date of publication.
For example:
Bianco, EB Charlotte’s Webb. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1952.
A Chicago-style works cited list also organizes the listings alphabetically by last name, indented after the first line of each source, with a space between each listing. Usually, the Chicago style calls for a bibliography instead of a works cited page, but the formatting remains the same. Chicago-style entries should be as follows:
Author’s last name, author’s first name. Book’s title. Place of publication:
Publisher, date of publication.
For example:
White, EB Charlotte’s Web. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1952.
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