Purdue Owl Sample Research Paper

When the source has more than one date, it is sufficient to use the date that is most relevant to your writing.If you’re unsure about which date to use, go with the date of the source’s original publication.

The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public.

If there is more than one publisher, and they are all are relevant to your research, list them in your citation, separated by a forward slash (/).

It should properly attribute any ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotations to your source, and should direct readers to the entry in the Works Cited list.

For the most part, an in-text citation is the author’s name and the page number (or just the page number, if the author is named in the sentence) in parentheses: Again, your goal is to attribute your source and provide a reference without interrupting your text.

Since pre-1900 works were usually associated with the city in which they were published, your documentation may substitute the city name for the publisher’s name.

URLs: As mentioned above, while the eighth edition recommends including URLs when you cite online sources, you should always check with your instructor or editor and include URLs at their discretion.

DOIs: A DOI, or digital object identifier, is a series of digits and letters that leads to the location of an online source.

Articles in journals are often assigned DOIs to ensure that the source is locatable, even if the URL changes.

The eighth edition is designed to be as streamlined as possible.

The author should include any information that helps readers easily identify the source, without including unnecessary information that may be distracting.