Citations, or citing, is simply a way of giving the person or entity you obtained your information from its credit; it is also provides reassurance to your instructors that the information you received and used in your research came from good, credible, sources. As you know, or should know, there are several types of resources you can obtain and cite as a student: eBooks, newspapers, online journals, magazines, print books, guides, handbooks, Web Sites, and so on. With these types of sources comes different types of rules for citing these resources; in addition to that, there are various citation styles, such as MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian style. As a student, you will need to identify what citation style is used by your class and the types of resources your instructor will want you to use.
Writers Reference 9e by 
MLA Handbook by 
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by Since citation rules are always modified, it is important to use resources that keep up to the current practices used in citing. The El Paso Community College Libraries page provides students a "Citation Help and Tutorials" tab that provides you with ALL of your citing needs in the most popular styles used for citing. Simply click the link that is highlighted or visit our libraries page to access these guides.
Of all the resources available, a personal favorite for librarians, instructors, and students is the Purdue OWL manual. This guide is available free of charge and maintained by Purdue University; it provides you information on formatting your paper and citing various types of resources in MLA, APA, and Chicago formats of citation. Since citation styles frequently change, it is important to use sources like Purdue OWL since all information within their Web site is kept relevant to current standards.
Purdue OWL provides users worldwide with free information on writing, researching, and citing. Purdue OWL offers MLA, APA and Chicago handbooks free of charge; these guides will explain the concept, formats, and general rules of citing. To access the Purdue OWL, click the "Citation Help and Tutorials" tab in our Web Page and simply select the guide. It is always important to check your citations despite the fact there are platforms out there to cite your papers.
