When writing research articles, whether as a student or a professional researcher, you may want to use essays as a source of information. Usually, you can find essays in other sources, such as edited books or essay collections. When discussing or mentioning information from an essay in writing, you need to use in-text citations that lead the reader to the full citation entry in the reference list at the end of the article. While the information in the full entry is essentially the same, the format will differ depending on the citation style used (eg Modern Language Association [MLA], American Psychological Association [APA], or Chicago).
Step
Method 1 of 3: Using the MLA Citation Style
Step 1. Begin the works cited with the name of the author of the essay
Type the author's last name first and continue with a comma. After that, enter the author's first name, followed by a period.
For example: Potter, Harry
Step 2. Mention the title of the essay and enclose it in quotation marks
After the author's name, type the title of the essay in title-case format (capital letters as the first letters of all words and nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs in the title). Add a period at the end of the title, before the closing quotation marks.
For example: Potter, Harry. "My Life with Voldemort."
Step 3. List the title and author or editor of the larger publication (which houses the essay)
Type the title of the publication in italic text and in title-case format. Add a comma after the title, followed by the word “by” or “by” and the name of the author/editor in first name-last name format. Place a comma after the name of the author/editor.
- For example: Potter, Harry. "My Life with Voldemort." Great Thoughts from Hogwarts Alumni, by Bathilda Backshot,
- For Indonesian: Potter, Harry. "My Life with Voldemort." Great Thoughts from Hogwarts Alumni, by Bathilda Backshot,
Step 4. Add the publication information of the larger work or the one that houses the essay
Type the publisher's name after the author/editor's last name, followed by a comma. After that, add the year of publication and continue with a comma.
- For example: Potter, Harry. "My Life with Voldemort." Great Thoughts from Hogwarts Alumni, by Bathilda Backshot, Hogwarts Press, 2019,
- For Indonesian: Potter, Harry. "My Life with Voldemort." Great Thoughts from Hogwarts Alumni, by Bathilda Backshot, Hogwarts Press, 2019,
Step 5. State the number of the page containing the essay
Since the essay used is part of a larger work or publication, and the bibliography entry in your article only cites the essay used, let readers know the location of the essay in the work/publication that houses it. Type in the abbreviation " pp. " or “p.”, followed by the first and last pages of the essay (separated by a hyphen). Place a period after the last page number.
- For example: Potter, Harry. "My Life with Voldemort." Great Thoughts from Hogwarts Alumni, by Bathilda Backshot, Hogwarts Press, 2019, pp. 22-42.
- For Indonesian: Potter, Harry. "My Life with Voldemort." Great Thoughts from Hogwarts Alumni, by Bathilda Backshot, Hogwarts Press, 2019, p. 22-42.
Bibliography Entry Format in MLA Citation Style:
Last Name, First Name. "Essay Title." Title of Collection or Major Publication, by/by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year, pp./p. ##-##.
Step 6. Use the author's last name and page number for in-text citations
- For example, you could write it like this: Although the stories circulating sound like great adventures, the students are actually scared to face Voldemort (Potter 28).
- If you mention the author's name in a sentence/writing, you only need to include the page number containing the cited information/material (in parentheses) at the end of the sentence.
- If you are using multiple essays by multiple authors with the same last name, include each author's first name initial in the in-text citation to distinguish each author.
- For multiple essays by the same author, include an abbreviated version of the title after the author's name (if the title is not mentioned in the article).
Method 2 of 3: Using ANY Citation Style
Step 1. List the author's name first for the reference list entry
Type the last name of the essayist first, followed by a comma. Add the initials of the author's first name after it. If the author's initials or middle names are mentioned in the essay/source, add the initials of the middle name after the initials of the first name.
For example: Granger, H
Step 2. Add the year of publication of the larger work (which houses the essay)
Type the year of work/publication in parentheses after the author's name. Place a period at the end of the year, outside the closing parenthesis.
For example: Granger, H. (2018)
Step 3. State the title of the essay
Type the title of the essay in sentence-case format (capitalize the first letter of the first word and your own name in the title). If the essay has a subtitle, add a colon at the end of the title and type in the subtitle (also in sentence-case format). Add a dot at the end.
For example: Granger, H. (2018). Adventures in time turning
Step 4. Include the author's name and the title of the larger publication (which houses the essay)
Add the word " In " or "In", then enter the initials of the first name and last name (full name) of the author/editor of the publication. If the name is an editor, add the abbreviation “Ed.” in parentheses after the name. Insert a comma, then type the title of the publication in sentence-case format. Don't add a period to the end of the title.
- For example: Granger, H. (2018). Adventures in time turning. In M. McGonagall (Ed.), Reflections on my time at Hogwarts
- For Indonesian: Granger, H. (2018). Adventures in time turning. In M. McGonagall (Ed.), Reflections on my time at Hogwarts
Step 5. State the page range containing the essay and the name of the publisher of the publication
Type a space after the publication title, and then enter the page range that contains the essay in the publication (enclosed in parentheses). Use the abbreviations " pp. " or "p.", and separate the first and last pages with a hyphen. End the reference list entry with the publisher's name, followed by a period.
- For example: Granger, H. (2018). Adventures in time turning. In M. McGonagall (Ed.), Reflections on my time at Hogwarts (pp. 92-130). Hogwarts Press.
- For Indonesian: Granger, H. (2018). Adventures in time turning. In M. McGonagall (Ed.), Reflections on my time at Hogwarts (pp. 92-130). Hogwarts Press.
Reference List Entry Format in APA Citation Style:
Last Name, Initial First Name. (Year). Essay title. In/In First Name Initials. Full Last Name (Ed.), Title of larger publication (pp./p. ##-##). Publisher.
Step 6. Use the author's last name and year of publication for in-text citations
The APA citation style uses the author-date system for in-text citations. In parentheses, type the author's last name, insert a comma, and then enter the year of publication. Full-text citations (bracketed citations) with author and year information added at the end of the sentence referring to the source, before the period in the sentence.
- For example, you could write it like this: By using a time turner, a witch or wizard can appear to others as though they are actually in two places at once (Granger, 2018).
- For English: With the time dial, the wizard will look as if he is in two places at the same time (Granger, 2018).
- If you mention the author's name in the article, include the year information (in parentheses) after the author's name. For example, you could write it as follows: Although technically against the rules, Granger (2018) maintains that her use of a time turner was sanctioned by the head of her house.
- For Indonesian: Although it is technically considered a violation of the rules, Granger (2018) confirms that the use of the time dial has been approved by the head of the house.
- Add page numbers if you are adding a direct quote from the source. Just insert a comma after the year, then add the number or page range containing the cited information. Use the abbreviation " p. " for one page or " pp.” for the page range. For Indonesian, just use the abbreviation "hal.".
Method 3 of 3: Using the Chicago Quote Style
Step 1. Begin the bibliographic entry with the name of the essayist
Type the last name of the essayist, followed by a comma. After that, enter the author's first name and continue with a period.
For example: Weasley, Ron
Step 2. Mention the title of the essay and enclose it in quotation marks
Type the title of the essay in title-case format (capitalize the first letter of the first word and every noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, and verb). Place a period at the end of the title, before the closing quotes.
For example: Weasley, Ron. "Best Friend to a Hero."
Step 3. Add the title and editor of the publication that houses the essay, along with the page numbers that contain it
Type the word " In " or "In", followed by the title of the publication in italics. Place a comma after the title, then add the phrase " edited by ", followed by the name of the editor. Add a comma after the editor's name. Type the range of pages containing the essay, followed by a period.
- For example: Weasley, Ron. "Best Friend to a Hero." In Harry Potter: Wizard, Myth, Legend, edited by Xenophilius Lovegood, 80-92.
- For Indonesian: Weasley, Ron. "Best Friend to a Hero." In Harry Potter: Wizard, Myth, Legend, edited by Xenophilius Lovegood, 80-92.
Step 4. List the publication information of the publication that houses the essay
Type in the publisher's location, followed by a colon. After that, add the name of the publisher and continue with a comma. End the bibliographic entry with the year of publication. Add a dot at the end of the year.
- For example: Weasley, Ron. "Best Friend to a Hero." In Harry Potter: Wizard, Myth, Legend, edited by Xenophilius Lovegood, 80-92. Ottery St. Catchpole: Quibbler Books, 2018.
- For Indonesian: Weasley, Ron. "Best Friend to a Hero." In Harry Potter: Wizard, Myth, Legend, edited by Xenophilius Lovegood, 80-92. Ottery St. Catchpole: Quibbler Books, 2018.
Bibliographic Entry Format in Chicago Citation Style:
Last Name, First Name. "Essay Title." In/In Book Title or Essay Collection, edited by First Name Last Name, ##-##. Location: Publisher, Year.
Step 5. Adjust the format for the footnote
Footnotes include the same information as information in a bibliographic entry. However, this information is formatted like a single sentence and each element is separated by a comma instead of a period. You will also need to add the publishing information in parentheses. The only dot in the footnote is added at the end of the entry.
- For example: Ron Weasley, "Best Friend to a Hero," in Harry Potter: Wizard, Myth, Legend, edited by Xenophilius Lovegood, 80-92 (Ottery St. Catchpole: Quibbler Books, 2018).
- For English: Ron Weasley, "Best Friend to a Hero," in Harry Potter: Wizard, Myth, Legend, edited by Xenophilius Lovegood, 80-92 (Ottery St. Catchpole: Quibbler Books, 2018).
- After the first footnote, use the abbreviated format of the footnote that includes the author's last name, essay title, and page number/range containing only the information cited.
Tip:
If you are using the Chicago citation style with the author-date system for in-text citations, use the same in-text citation method as in the APA citation style.
