PolyU ELC Reference Guides
APA Style
MLA Style
Harvard Style
Chicago Style
A reference providing information about where a particular quotation, text, etc., is to be found; a bibliographical reference. [Oxford English Dictionary]
In general, citations help readers to locate your sources of information, as well as avoid plagiarism.
Use a Reference Machine (by PolyU ELC) to help you construct citations for various usages.
The citation style you use depends on your discipline. If you're not sure, check with your professor. Citation styles commonly used by various disciplines are listed below:
Subject | Commonly used citation style |
Applied Science & Textiles (FAST) | APA / Harvard |
Construction & Environment (FCE) | IEEE / Harvard |
Engineering (FENG) | IEEE |
Health Sciences (FHSS) | APA |
Social Sciences (FHSS) | APA |
Humanities (FH) | APA / MLA |
School of Design (SD) | APA |
School of Hotel & Tourism Management (SHTM) |
APA |
You need to understand why and how to use citations to help you avoid plagiarism! The Online Tutorial on Academic Integrity has been developed to raise students’ awareness of academic integrity and the University’s expectations for honest academic behaviour. Use this interactive tutorial to understand the importance and mechanics of avoiding plagiarism through proper citing. You may access this online tutorial via Learn@PolyU:
The following are the top 10 publishers which PolyU researchers have their works published across various subject areas in the recent 5 years. [Data from Scopus]
1. Elsevier
2. IEEE
3. Springer
4. Wiley
5. Taylor & Francis
6. Sage
7. Royal Society of Chemistry
8. Emerald
9. American Institute of Physics
10. American Chemical Society
If you are writing a paper for a journal, always check the citation style requirements from that specific journal, because different journal (or publisher) may use different citation styles.
You may refer to the following examples:
1. Elsevier
2. Springer
3. Wiley
Two parts of a citation:
1. In-text citation
Example of In-text citation:
(McWhorter & Aaron, 2009) Or McWhorter and Aaron (2009) point out that…
2. References
NOTE: The references list should have hanging indents for the second and subsequent lines of citations. The hanging indents are not included at below examples because of how this guide displays across different browsers.
Example 1 (Print Book)
APA Style (6th edition)
McWhorter, K. T., & Aaron, J. E. (2009). The successful writer's handbook. New York: Longman.
Example 2 (Electronic Book)
Davis, H. G., & Taylor, T. J. (2003). Rethinking Linguistics Communication and Linguistic Theory.
Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=97208&site=ehost-live
Example 3 (Chapter in an Edited Book)
Jahandarie, K. (1999). Development of the Literate Mind. In D. Olson (Ed.), Spoken and written discourse : a multi-disciplinary perspective (pp. 113-130). Stamford, Conn: Ablex Pub.
Example 4 (Print Journal Article)
Ellis, D., & Cromby, J. (2012). Emotional inhibition: A discourse analysis of disclosure. Psychology & Health, 27(5), 515-532.
Example 5 (Electronic Journal Article)
With DOI
Johnson, S. L. (2015). Workplace bullying prevention: a critical discourse analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 71(10), 2384-2392. doi:10.1111/jan.12694
Or
Without DOI
Xiaoming, L., & Atkins, M. S. (2004). Early Childhood Computer Experience and Cognitive and Motor Development. Pediatrics, 113(6), 1715-1722. Retrieved from http://www.jpeds.com/
MLA released the 8th edition in May 2016. Read MLA's "What's New in the Eight Edition" for changes since the 7th edition. Double check with your instructors to see which edition to use.
Two parts of a citation:
1. In-text citation
Example of In-text citation:
Widdowson mentioned that “A text can be defined as an actual use of language” (20).
Or
“A text can be defined as an actual use of language” (Widdowson 20).
2. Works Cited
NOTE: Your Works Cited page should have hanging indents for the second and subsequent lines of citations. The hanging indents are not included at below examples because of how this guide displays across different browsers.
Example 1 (Print Book)
Widdowson, H. G. Discourse Analysis. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Example 2 (Electronic Book)
New, Christopher. Philosophy of Literature: An Introduction. Routledge, 1999. EBSCOHost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=60555&site=ehost-live.
Example 3 (Chapter in an Edited Book)
Jahandarie, Khosrow. "Development of the Literate Mind." Spoken and Written Discourse: A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective, edited by David Olson, Ablex Pub., 1999, pp. 113-30.
Example 4 (Print Journal Article)
Wintner, Shuly. "Hebrew Computational Linguistics: Past and Future." Artificial Intelligence Review, vol. 21, no. 2, 2004, pp. 113-38.
Example 5 (Electronic Journal Article)
Ellis, Nick C. et al. "Formulaic Language in Native and Second Language Speakers: Psycholinguistics, Corpus Linguistics, and Tesol." TESOL Quarterly, vol. 42, no. 3, 2008, pp. 375-396. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/40264474. Accessed 6 Feb 2017.
MLA released the 8th edition in May 2016. Read MLA's "What's New in the Eight Edition" for changes since the 7th edition. Double check with your instructors to see which edition to use.
Two parts of a citation:
1. In-text citation
Example of In-text citation:
Widdowson mentioned that “A text can be defined as an actual use of language” (20).
Or
“A text can be defined as an actual use of language” (Widdowson 20).
2. Works Cited
NOTE: Your Works Cited page should have hanging indents for the second and subsequent lines of citations. The hanging indents are not included at below examples because of how this guide displays across different browsers.
Example 1 (Print Book)
Widdowson, H. G. Discourse Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.
Example 2 (Electronic Book)
New, Christopher. Philosophy of Literature : An Introduction. London: Routledge, 1999. EBSCO eBooks. Web. 19 May 2016.
Example 3 (Chapter in an Edited Book)
Jahandarie, Khosrow. "Development of the Literate Mind." Spoken and Written Discourse : A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective. Ed. Olson, David. Stamford, Conn: Ablex Pub., 1999. 113-30. Print.
Example 4 (Print Journal Article)
Wintner, Shuly. "Hebrew Computational Linguistics: Past and Future." Artificial Intelligence Review 21.2 (2004):113-38. Print.
Example 5 (Electronic Journal Article)
Ellis, Nick C. et al. "Formulaic Language in Native and Second Language Speakers: Psycholinguistics, Corpus Linguistics, and Tesol." TESOL Quarterly. 42.3 (2008): 375-96. JSTOR. Web. 20 May 2016.
Many databases provide quick link to citation style, you can simply "copy" the citation from your search result list and "paste" to your document. The following are a few examples of copying APA citation (6th edition) from online sources:
1. OneSearch
2. ProQuest