Whether you're writing a school assignment or making a presentation, you may want to use newspaper articles as a resource. Usually, citing newspaper articles is different from citing books or scientific journal articles. The citation format to follow also differs between the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA) and Chicago citation styles. Also, you will need to make a different citation if you are citing an article from a newspaper website, and not a print newspaper.
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Method 1 of 3: Using the MLA Citation Style
Step 1. Start with the author's name
If there is a line with the author's name in the article to be cited, your reference entry should begin with the author's last name. Place a comma after the last name, then include the author's first name. End with a dot.
- For example: Kent, Clark.
- If there is no author information, move on to the next element in the reference entry.
Step 2. Enter the title of the article and enclose it in quotation marks
After the author's name, include the full title of the article, along with the subtitle if available. Separate the title and subtitle (if any) with a semicolon. Capitalize the first letter of each noun and verb. Place a period at the end of the title, before the closing quotes.
For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away."
Step 3. Include the name of the newspaper in italics
After the title of the article, enter the name of the newspaper that contains the article. Even if you find the article online, use the name of the newspaper, not the name of the website. If the city information is not displayed in the newspaper name, include the city name in square brackets after the newspaper name. Insert a comma after it.
- If you include city information, do not italicize the city name.
- For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet [Metropolis],
Step 4. Include the date of publication of the article and the page number
After the name of the newspaper, enter the date of publication of the article in date-month-year format. Insert a comma, then enter the number of the page containing the article. If there is no page number, enter a period after the date.
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For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet [Metropolis], 17 July 2017, p. A1.
For examples in Indonesian: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet [Metropolis], 17 July 2017, p. A1
- If the article is available on the internet and does not have a page number, simply insert a period after the date of publication.
Step 5. Name the database or website that contains the article
If you find an article in an online newspaper database, type the database name in italics. If you find the article on the newspaper's website, provide a direct, permanent link to the article without the "http:" section in the URL. End the reference entry with a period.
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Example of reference entry with database: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet [Metropolis], 17 July 2017, p. A1. DC News.
Examples in Indonesian: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet [Metropolis], 17 July 2017, p. A1. DC News
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Examples of reference entries with URLs: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet [Metropolis], 17 July 2017, p. A1. www.dailyplanet.com/superman_spurns_gotham.
Examples in Indonesian: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet [Metropolis], 17 July 2017, p. A1. www.dailyplanet.com/superman_spurns_gotham
Step 6. Use the author's name and page number for in-text citations
In general, the MLA style uses “bracketed” citations in writing or presentations to direct the reader to the full citation/reference entry on the reference page.
- For example: (Kent, A1)
- If there is no author's name, place the first one or more words of the article title (enclosed in quotation marks) for the in-text citation. If there is no page number information, simply skip that section.
Method 2 of 3: Using ANY Citation Style
Step 1. Start with the author's last name and initials of his first name
If the article is written by more than one person, list the names of the authors in the order in which the article is written and separate each name with a comma. Type the word "and" (or "and") before the last author's name. The dot inserted after the initials of the first name also serves as a closing at the end of this section/information.
- For example: Clark, K.
- If the article does not contain the author's name, start the reference entry with the article title. Use capital letters for the first letter of the first word and only your own name.
Step 2. Include the date of publication (in parentheses) after the author's name
Place the year of publication of the article first, then insert a comma. Enter the abbreviated month name, followed by the date. For Indonesian, use the date-month-year format. End with a closing parenthesis and a period after it.
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For example: Clark, K. (2017, July 17).
Example in Indonesian: Clark, K. (17 July 2017)
- For articles without author information, include the date (in parentheses) after the title.
Step 3. Type in the title of the article and capitalize the first letter of the first word and name only
After the date, enter the title of the article along with the subtitle. Use capital letters for the first letter of the first word and first name. Place a period at the end of the title or other punctuation if necessary.
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For example: Clark, K. (2017, July 17). Villains take over Gotham; Superman stays away.
Example in Indonesian: Clark, K. (17 July 2017). Villains take over Gotham; Superman stays away
Step 4. Enter the name of the newspaper in italics along with the page number
For printed newspapers, include the segment information and page number after the newspaper name. Do not print page numbers in italic text. Place a period after the page number. If the page number is not available (eg the article was obtained from the internet), place a period after the name of the newspaper.
- For example: Clark, K. (2017, July 17). Villains take over Gotham; Superman stays away. The Daily Planet, p. A1.
- Example in Indonesian: Clark, K. (17 July 2017). Villains take over Gotham; Superman stays away. The Daily Planet, p. A1.
Step 5. Add site or database URL if available
Begin with the phrase " Retrieved from " to let readers know the platform that the article is on. The APA style of citation requires only the URL of the newspaper site, and not a direct permalink to the article.
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Example with database: Villains take over Gotham; Superman stays away. The Daily Planet, p. A1. Retrieved from Collected DC News.
Examples in Indonesian: Villains take over Gotham; Superman stays away. The Daily Planet, p. A1. Taken from Collected DC News
- Example with URL: Villains take over Gotham; Superman stays away. The Daily Planet, p. A1. Retrieved from
Examples in Indonesian: Villains take over Gotham; Superman stays away. The Daily Planet, p. A1. Taken from
Step 6. Use the author's last name and year of publication for in-text citations
In addition to reference entries, the APA citation style also requires “brackets” citations in the text when you are paraphrasing or citing information from sources. If you are making direct citations, include page numbers (if possible).
- Example of paraphrasing: (Kent, 2017)
- Examples of direct quotes: (Kent, 2017, p. A1) or (Kent, 2017, p. A1)
Method 3 of 3: Using the Chicago Quote Style
Step 1. Begin the reference entry with the author's name
If the author's name is included in the article, type his last name first, followed by a comma and his first name. Place a period after the author's name.
- For example: Kent, Clark.
- If the author's name is not included in the article, start the entry with the name of the newspaper (in italics), followed by a comma. For example: The Daily Planet,
Step 2. Enter the title of the article and enclose it in quotation marks
Use capital letters for all nouns and verbs in the title. Include a subtitle by adding a colon after the title, then typing the subtitle. Place a period or other punctuation mark at the end of the title, before the closing quotation marks.
For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away."
Step 3. Enter the name of the newspaper in italic text
Type the name of the newspaper that contains the article after the article title. Place a period at the end of the newspaper name.
For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet
Step 4. Include the date of publication of the article
Start with the name of the month (in full), then the date and a comma. End with the year the article was published, and insert a period after it. If the date and month of publication are not listed, use only the year of publication. For online articles, include the date of the article's most recent update if available.
- For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet. July 17, 2017.
- In the Indonesian example, use the date-month-year format for the date of publication: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet. 17 July 2017.
Step 5. Copy the URL and include the date of access for the online newspaper
If you are accessing the source article from the internet, include a full permanent link to the article. After the link, enter the opening brackets and type in the word “accessed” (or “accessed on”), followed by the month, date, and year the article was accessed. For Indonesian, use the date-month-year format. Insert a period after the closing parenthesis.
- For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet. July 17, 2017. www.dailyplanet.com/superman_spurns_gotham (accessed July 19, 2017).
- Examples in Indonesian: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away." The Daily Planet. 17 July 2017. www.dailyplanet.com/superman_spurns_gotham (accessed 19 July 2017).
Step 6. Change the order of author names and use commas for footnotes
When using the Chicago citation style, you will usually need to place a footnote in the text when you are paraphrasing or citing the source directly. The footnote format is similar to the reference entry format, but you need to enter the author's first name first. Also, instead of periods, use a comma between each element of the quote.
- For example: Clark Kent, "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away," The Daily Planet, July 17, 2017. www.dailyplanet.com/superman_spurns_gotham (accessed July 19, 2017).
- Example in Indonesian: Clark Kent, "Villains Take Over Gotham; Superman Stays Away," The Daily Planet, 17 July 2017. www.dailyplanet.com/superman_spurns_gotham (accessed 19 July 2017).
- After citing the source article in the footnote, use the abbreviated form of the footnote if you need to rewrite it. This shortened form includes the author's last name, followed by a shortened version of the title (enclosed in quotation marks). For example: Kent, "Villains Take Over."
