Hanging Indentations
APA, MLA, and other citation styles require that you format your bibliographical entries with hanging indentations. A hanging indentation is when your top line sticks out half an inch to the left past any remaining lines below. Hanging indentations make bibliography lists easier to search through:
Dooley, Kevin. Viewing Seurat. 26 Aug. 2010, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viewing_Seurat_(5000489105).jpg. Accessed 19 Oct. 2022.
Foa, Michelle. Georges Seurat: The Art of Vision. Yale University Press, 2015.
Seurat, Georges. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. 1884-86, oil on canvas, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Joy of Museums Virtual Tours, https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/united-states-of-america/chicago-museums/art-institute-of-chicago/a-sunday-afternoon-on-the-island-of-la-grande-jatte/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2022.
Remember that while these above example citations were formatted according to MLA style, APA, Chicago, and other styles also require hanging indentations to be used in your bibliography.
How to Format Hanging Indentations
Microsoft Word: Highlight the text you wish to format to hanging indentation, or get to where you want to start formatting that way. Under the Home tab at the top, look for the Paragraph section of the menu (it looks like the above image). Click on the tiny expand box in the bottom right corner.
The menu to the right should appear. In the middle, under Indentation, there is a pull-down menu labelled Special. Click on it, and select Hanging. The box to the right, By, should automatically set to 0.5" or half an inch.
Google Docs: There is a similar way to format hanging indentations in Google Docs. Highlight the text you want to format that way, or get to the place in your document where you want to start formatting hanging indentations. On the top menu bar, click on Format, then Align & Indent, and then Indentation Options. Under Special indent, select Hanging and set it to .5 (inches).
Apple Pages, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs: All three programs allow you to format a hanging indentation through the ruler function. Highlight the text you want to format that way or get to where you want to start formatting that way. Then, if it is not already on, turn on the ruler function: in Microsoft Word, click on View in the top menu, and check the box for Ruler, or else type in Show Ruler into the Tell me what you want to do search; if you are using Apple Pages or Google Docs, click on View in the top menu, and select Show Ruler. A ruler like this should appear:
Look for the hourglass-shaped triangles and box on the left. Click and hold on the box at the bottom of the hourglass, and slide it it half an inch to the right. Then, click on the top downward-pointing triangle, and slide it half an inch back to the left, where it started.
In Apple Pages and Google Docs, the ruler looks like this:
Look for the blue triangle and bar on the left. Click and hold on the downward-pointing blue triangle, and slide it it half an inch to the right. Then, click on the top little blue bar, and slide it half an inch back to the left, where it started.
A Hack for Formatting Hanging Indentations in Other Programs
If the program or platform you are typing in does not have any option for making hanging indentations, you can always try preparing the hanging indented entries in Word, Pages, or Google Docs, and then copying and pasting them into the uncooperative program. That's what I had to do to get hanging indents to work in this LibGuide!
Annotations
An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that includes a short summary/analysis of the bibliographic entries. The annotation appears after the bibliographic entry and is indented with the same hanging indent:
Seurat, Georges. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. 1884-86, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Georges Seurat: The Art of Vision, by Michelle Foa, Yale University Press, 2015, p. 64.
Seurat’s masterpiece is considered the greatest example of pointillism, or, applying paint to the canvas strictly through the use of dots. It is considered one of the first neo-impressionist works of art…
For more annotated bibliography examples, check out Purdue OWL.
There are two things you need when citing something in a paper: an in-text citation and a bibliographic entry. An in-text citation is the limited amount of information that your reader can use to look through your cited list/bibliography and find the full bibliographic entry so that she can access the cited work if necessary.
In MLA, a basic in-text citation in an essay is made up of whatever comes first in the bibliographic entry (author's last name or the title of an anonymous work) and, if there are any, the page numbers where you found the quote or data or information (p. X for one page, pp. X-Y for multiple pages). If there is no author, instead put the title or a shortened version of the title. If you have multiple works by the same author in your bibliography, you should include the author's last name and a shortened version of the title. For more information and examples, check out the MLA Style Center.
In-text citation for a source with page numbers:
If you are citing a book with the following bibliographic entry:
Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
...then your in-text citation would look like this:
Diamond argues: "the striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (p. 405).
OR
"The striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (Diamond, p. 405).
In-text citation for multiple books by the same author:
If, however, your bibliography has multiple works by Jared Diamond, or multiple works by two or more authors with the last name Diamond, your in-text citation should include a shortened version of the title:
"The striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (Diamond, Guns, p. 405).
In-text citations for sources without page numbers:
If, for example, you are citing a painting by Seurat, with the following bibliographic entry:
Seurat, Georges. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. 1884-86, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Georges Seurat: The Art of Vision, by Michelle Foa, Yale University Press, 2015, p. 64.
...then your in-text citation should look like:
Seurat also gives insight into how nineteenth-century Europeans utilized green spaces.
OR
Contemporary artwork shows that nineteenth-century Europeans enjoyed relaxing in green spaces (Seurat).
In-text citations for an anonymous work:
In-text citations utilize the first word of a bibliographic entry. If a work is anonymous, then the first part of your bibliographic entry is the title. So, if you have a bibliographic entry for this book:
The Táin. Translated by Thomas Kinsella, brush drawings by Louis Le Brocquy, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1970.
...then your in-text citation would look like:
Another powerful woman in Irish legend is Crunniuc mac Agnomain's wife, who curses the men of Ulster to endure the labor pains of a mother in childbirth whenever Ulster is in peril (The Táin, pp. 6-8).
Plagiarism is when you intentionally or even unintentionally present someone else's original work as your own. Since all research and study builds off the original work of others, it is therefore necessary for you to cite the works from which you are finding the words, ideas, and data for your research. Proper use of citations protects you from engaging in plagiarism.
You therefore MUST cite things you get from sources, including:
You do not need to cite "general knowledge" like:
WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE IT!
To properly cite something, you have to follow a citation style. The preferred citation styles for Philosophy Courses at Daley College are APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association). The resources below can help you learn how to format your citations.
MLA identifies that there are up to nine core elements to look for when preparing a bibliographic citation for a source or work. While you should try to fill in as many elements as you can, most sources will not have values for all nine elements; the only core element you always must have is #2 Title. There are also two optional elements that you may decide to include for citing works of art, images, and websites.
The other key concept in MLA citations, other than core elements, is the concept of a source's container. A container is a broader work in which the source is found. Your source may have no container, or multiple containers! For example, a one-off printed book by one author has no container, while an album is the container of a single song.
*Medium (optional): If you are citing a work of art, you can if you want at this point put in the materials of the artwork (for example, oil on canvas or photograph).
*Access date (optional): If you are citing a website (as opposed to a DOI or permalink) you can at this point put in the date on which you access the website. This can be a good idea as websites (as opposed to DOIs or permalinks) can quickly change or be deleted. Format the access date day month abbreviated year (for example, Accessed on 17 Nov. 2022).
The core elements can then be plugged in to make your citation in order, minus the core elements for which there were no answers. For example, if your source only has core elements 1, 2, 7, and 8 (like many books), then your citation would just be:
#1 Author Last Name, First Name. #2 Title. #7 Publisher, #8 Date.
Foa, Michelle. Georges Seurat: The Art of Vision. Yale University Press, 2015.
If your work has a container, type in all the values that you have, #1-9, for the original source, and put a period; then, put in all the values you have for the container, #3-9 (see the examples below). The exact formatting for your citation, from what to italicize to where to put periods or commas, will depend on the type of resource for which you are making a citation (see the examples below).
To look at examples or use a practice temple, check out the MLA Style Center website!
Let's go through a few practice examples! What are the core elements for this basic book, and how would you turn them into a bibliographic citation?
Author: Diamond, Jared
Title: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Title of container: N/A
Contributor: N/A
Version: N/A
Number: N/A
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date: 1997
Location: N/A
Plug in those elements, and you have:
#1 Author's last name, first name. #2 Book Title. #7 Publisher, #8 Publication date.
Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Let's try a more complicated book!
Author: Anonymous (skip it)
Title: The Táin
Title of container: N/A
Contributors: translated by Thomas Kinsella, brush drawings by Louis Le Brocquy
Version: 2nd ed.
Number: N/A
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication date: 1970
Location: N/A
Plug those in, and you have:
#2 Book Title. #4 Contributed by contributors, #5 Version, #7 Publisher, #8 Publication date.
The Táin. Translated by Thomas Kinsella, brush drawings by Louis Le Brocquy, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1970.
Now, let's try an online news article:
Author: Sudworth, John
Title: “The faces from China's Uyghur detention camps."
Title of container: BBC
Contributor: N/A
Version: N/A
Number: N/A
Publisher: N/A
Publication date: May 2022
Location: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/85qihtvw6e/the-faces-from-chinas-uyghur-detention-camps?utm_source=digg
Access date: Accessed 15 Nov. 2022
#1 Author's last name, first name. "#2 Title." #3 Title of container, #8 Publication date, #9 Location. *Access date.
Sudworth, John. “The faces from China's Uyghur detention camps.” BBC, May 2022, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/85qihtvw6e/the-faces-from-chinas-uyghur-detention-camps?utm_source=digg. Accessed 15 Nov. 2022.
Finally, let's try citing an academic journal article found from an online database. This is tricky! It involves two containers: the journal, and the online database:
Primary Work in First Container
Author: Samatar, Sofia
Title: “Toward a Planetary History of Afrofuturism”
Title of container: Research in African Literatures (journal)
Contributor: N/A
Version: N/A
Number: vol. 48, no. 4
Publisher: N/A
Publication date: 2017
Location: pages 175-191/pp. 175-91
Second Container
Author: N/A
Title: N/A
Title of second container: JSTOR (journal database)
Contributor: N/A
Version: N/A
Number: N/A
Publisher: N/A
Publication date: N/A
Location: https://doi.org/10.2979/reseafrilite.48.4.12
Access Date: Accessed 11 Nov. 2022
#1 Author's last name, first name. "#2 Title." #3 Title of first container, #6 Number, #8 Publication date, #9 Location. #3 Title of second container, #9 Location of work in second container. *Access date.
Samatar, Sofia. “Toward a Planetary History of Afrofuturism.” Research in African Literatures, vol. 48, no. 4, 2017, pp. 175–91. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2979/reseafrilite.48.4.12. Accessed 11 Nov. 2022.
There are two things you need when citing something in a paper: an in-text citation and a bibliographic entry. An in-text citation is the limited amount of information that your reader can use to look through your cited list/bibliography and find the full bibliographic entry so that she can access the cited work if necessary.
In APA, a basic in-text citation in an essay is made up of the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number(s) where you found the quote, data, or information you are citing. If, for example, your bibliography included the following book:
Diamond, J. (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W. W. Norton & Company.
...then your in-text citation for this book would look like this:
Diamond (1997) argues: "the striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (p. 405).
OR
"The striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (Diamond, 1997, p. 405).
If, however, you are citing multiple works by the same author from the same year, list them alphabetically in your bibliography by title, and then assign, a, b, c, etc. to the publication dates. Include these letters in your in-text citation. For example, if your bibliography included these two works:
Diamond, J. (1997a). Continental divides. Sciences, 37(2), 32-37.
Diamond, J. (1997b). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W. W. Norton & Company.
...then your in-text citation would look like this:
Diamond (1997b) argues: "the striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (p. 405).
OR
"The striking differences between long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due...to differences in their environments" (Diamond, 1997b, p. 405).
If you are citing a work with no page numbers, you can instead note the paragraph number (para. #) or leave out the page numbers element.
For more information, on in-text citations, check out Purdue OWL. If you need help preparing an in-text citation for a more complicated work, like a work by multiple authors or a work by an anonymous author, check out this other guide from Purdue OWL.
A bibliographic citation is meant to give the reader all of the information she needs to find and access the source being cited. When citing a website, that means including the web address, otherwise known as the URL or Uniform Resource Locator. Citing websites can be tricky. While many works on the internet are freely open to anyone, many others are only available to verified users with a login or users who pay to get access to something behind a paywall. If you are citing a source that requires a login or is behind a paywall, you MUST use what is variously called a stable URL or permalink.
One specific type of stable URL is a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), a URL which is permanently linked to that object. Anyone making online content can register their content with the DOI organization. DOIs all begin https://www.doi.org or https://doi.org
Finding a stable URL or DOI on JSTOR:
JSTOR is one of the best and most popular databases for finding academic journal articles. When you search for and click on an article, look to the left side. If need be, click on the info tab, and use either the DOI or Stable URL.
Finding a stable URL on EBSCO Academic Search Complete:
Academic Search Complete is another great and popular database for academic articles and books. When you search for and click on an article or item, look for the Permalink option with the chain link icon at the bottom of the right-side menu. Click on it, and a Permalink will appear above the title of the article, like in the image below.