ENGL 014: TECHNICAL WRITING

Notes on Documentation Styles

WHAT ARE DOCUMENTATION STYLES?

A documentation style is a standard approach to the citation of sources that the author
of a paper has consulted, abstracted, or quoted from. It prescribes methods for citing
references within the text, providing a list of works cited at the end of the paper, and
even formatting headings and margins.

Different academic disciplines use different documentation styles. It is important to fully

understand the documentation style to be used in your paper, and to apply it
consistently. Furthermore, documentation styles allow you to give credit for secondary
sources you have used in writing your paper.

Citing sources not only gives credit where it‟s due, but also allows your reader to locate
the sources you have consulted. In short, the reader of your paper must be able to use
the information you provide, both in the text and in appended list(s), to duplicate the
research you have done.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DOCUMENT?

In general, you must document information that originates in someone else‟s work. All
of the following should be accompanied by a reference to the original:

a. Direct quotations;

b. Paraphrases and summaries;

c. Information and ideas that are not common knowledge or are not available in a
standard reference work;

d. Any borrowed material that might appear to be your own if there were no citation.

WHICH STYLE SHOULD I USE?

Choosing the appropriate documentation style for your paper may depend on three
factors:
Page 1 of 18
  The requirements of the particular course;
 The guidelines of the university;
 The standard for the discipline in which you are studying; or

TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION STYLE

1. MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA)

 It is used by researchers in the fields of Literature, History, and Arts.

 It gives bibliographic citations in notes that correspond to reference numbers in
the body of the paper.
 Footnotes – when they are printed at the foot of the page
 Endnotes – when they are printed at the back of the book, at the end of the
chapter, or at the end of the article or a journal.
 It does not require to make bibliography because the endnotes can already give
you full bibliographical details.
 However, to help readers locate the source the data, notes and bibliography must
appear in your paper.

An MLA citation has two components:

• In-text citation: Every time you quote or paraphrase a source, you cite the
author and the page number in parentheses.
• Works Cited: At the end of your paper, you give a full reference for every source
you cited, alphabetized by the author‟s last name.

2. AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA)

 It is used by researchers in the fields of natural sciences and social sciences.

 More researchers nowadays, regardless of their area of concentration, prefer
using this style.
An APA citation has two components:
• In-text citation: Every time you quote or paraphrase a source, you cite the
author and the date of publication in parentheses.
• References: At the end of your paper, you give a full reference for every source
you cited, alphabetized by the author‟s last name.

Page 2 of 18
 APA IN-TEXT CITATION GUIDE
This is a complete guide to APA (American Psychological Association) in-text and
reference list citations. This easy-to-use, comprehensive guide makes citing any source
easy.

A. One Author

In-text references must be included following the use of a quote or paraphrase

taken from another piece of work.

In-text citations are citations within the main body of the text and refer to a direct
quote or paraphrase. They correspond to a reference in the main reference list.
These citations include the surname of the author and date of publication only.
Using an example author James Mitchell, this takes the form:

Mitchell (2017) states… Or …(Mitchell, 2017).

The structure of these changes depending on whether a direct quote or

parenthetical used:

 Direct Quote: The citation must follow the quote directly and contain a page
number after the date, for example (Mitchell, 2017, p.104). This rule holds for all
of the variations listed.
 Parenthetical: The page number is not needed.

B. Two Authors

The surname of both authors is stated with either „and‟ or an ampersand between.
For example:

Mitchell and Smith (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell & Smith, 2017).

C. Three, Four or Five Authors

For the first cite, all names should be listed:

Mitchell, Smith, and Thomson (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell, Smith, & Thomson, 2017).

Further cites can be shorted to the first author‟s name followed by et al:
Page 3 of 18
 Mitchell et al (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell et al, 2017).

D. Six or More Authors

Only the first author‟s surname should be stated followed by et al, see the above
example.

E. No Authors

If the author is unknown, the first few words of the reference should be used. This is
usually the title of the source.

If this is the title of a book, periodical, brochure or report, is should be italicised. For
example:

(A guide to citation, 2017).

If this is the title of an article, chapter or web page, it should be in quotation marks.
For example:

(“APA Citation”, 2017).

F. Citing Authors With Multiple Works From One Year

Works should be cited with a, b, c etc following the date. These letters are assigned
within the reference list, which is sorted alphabetically by the surname of the first
author. For example:

(Mitchell, 2017a) Or (Mitchell, 2017b).

G. Citing Multiple Works in One Parentheses

If these works are by the same author, the surname is stated once followed by the
dates in order chronologically. For instance:

Mitchell (2007, 2013, 2017) Or (Mitchell, 2007, 2013, 2017)

If these works are by multiple authors then the references are ordered alphabetically
by the first author separated by a semicolon as follows:

(Mitchell & Smith 2017; Thomson, Coyne, & Davis, 2015).

Page 4 of 18
H. Citing a Group or Organization

For the first cite, the full name of the group must be used. Subsequently this can be
shortened. For example:

First cite: (International Citation Association, 2015)

Further Cites: (Citation Association, 2015)

I. Citing a Secondary Source

In this situation the original author and date should be stated first followed by „as
cited in‟ followed by the author and date of the secondary source. For example:

Lorde (1980) as cited in Mitchell (2017) Or (Lorde, 1980, as cited in Mitchell, 2017)

APA REFERENCE GUIDE

Core Components of an APA Reference:

A reference list is a complete list of references used in a piece of writing including the
author name, date of publication, title and more. An APA reference list must:

 Be on a new page at the end of the document

 Be centered.

Page 5 of 18
  Arrange sources alphabetically by name of first author (or title if the author isn‟t
known, in this case a, an and the should be ignored)
o If there are multiple works by the same author these are ordered by date,
if the works are in the same year they are ordered alphabetically by the
title and are allocated a letter (a,b,c etc) after the date
 Contain full references for all in-text references used

A. Book (Title, not chapter)

Book referencing is the most basic style; it matches the template above, minus the
URL section. So the basic format of a book reference is as follows:

Book referencing examples:

Mitchell, J.A., Thomson, M., & Coyne, R.P. (2017). A guide to citation. London,
England: My Publisher

Jones, A.F & Wang, L. (2011). Spectacular creatures: The Amazon rainforest (2nd ed.).
San Jose, Costa Rica: My Publisher

B. Edited Book
This reference format is very similar to the book format apart from one extra
inclusion: (Ed(s)). The basic format is as follows:

Edited book example:

Page 6 of 18
 Williams, S.T. (Ed.). (2015). Referencing: A guide to citation rules (3rd ed.). New York,
NY: My Publisher

C. Edited Book (Chapters by Different Authors)

Edited books are collations of chapters written by different authors. To reference a
single chapter, a different format is needed. The basic structure is as follows:

Edited book chapter example:

In the following example, B.N. Troy is the author of the chapter and S.T. Williams is
the editor.

Troy, B.N. (2015). APA citation rules. In S.T, Williams (Ed.). A guide to citation
rules (2nd ed., pp. 50-95). New York, NY: Publishers.

D. E-Book
An E-Book reference is the same as a book reference expect the publisher is
swapped for a URL. The basic structure is as follows:

Author surname, initial(s) (Ed(s).*). (Year). Title (ed.*). Retrieved from URL

*optional.

E-Book example:

Mitchell, J.A., Thomson, M., & Coyne, R.P. (2017). A guide to citation. Retrieved from
https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/reference-manager

E. E-Book Chapter
This follows the same structure as an edited book chapter reference except the
publisher is exchanged for a URL. The structure is as follows:

Last name of the chapter author, initial(s). (Year). Chapter title. In editor initial(s),
surname (Ed.). Title (ed., pp.chapter page range). Retrieved from URL
Page 7 of 18
 E-Book chapter example:

Troy, B.N. (2015). APA citation rules. In S.T, Williams (Ed.). A guide to citation
rules (2nd ed., pp. 50-95). Retrieved from https://www.mendeley.com/reference-
management/reference-manager

F. Journal Article in Print or Online

Articles differ from book citations in that the publisher and publisher location are
not included. For journal articles, these are replaced with the journal title, volume
number, issue number and page number. The basic structure is:

Journal Article Examples:

Mitchell, J.A. (2017). Citation: Why is it so important. Mendeley Journal, 67(2), 81-95

Mitchell, J.A. (2017). Citation: Why is it so important. Mendeley Journal, 67(2), 81-95.
Retrieved from https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/reference-
manager

G. Newspaper Articles in Print or Online

The basic structure is as follows:

Author surname, initial(s). (Year, Month Day). Title. Title of

Newspaper, column/section, p. or pp. Retrieved from URL*

**Only include if the article is online.

Note: the date includes the year, month and date.

Newspaper Articles Example:

Page 8 of 18
 Mitchell, J.A. (2017). Changes to citation formats shake the research world. The
Mendeley Telegraph, Research News, pp.9. Retrieved from
https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/reference-manager

H. Magazine Articles
The basic structure is as follows:

Author surname, initial(s). (Year, month day). Title. Title of the Magazine, pp.

Magazine Article Example:

Mitchell, J.A. (2017). How citation changed the research world. The Mendeley, pp. 26-
28

I. Image
The basic format to cite an image is:

Image Example:
Millais, J.E. (1851-1852). Ophelia [painting]. Retrieved
from www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia-n01506

J. Film
The basic format of a film citation is:

Producer surname, initial (Producer), & Director surname, initial (Director). (Year of
Release). Title of film [Motion Picture]. Country of Origin: Studio.

Film Example:
Hitchcock, A. (Producer), & Hitchcock, A. (1954) Rear window. United States of
America: Paramount Pictures.

K. TV Programme
The basic format is as follows:

Page 9 of 18
 Writer surname, initial(s) (Writer), & Director surname, initial(s) (Director). (Year of
Release). Episode title [Television series episode]. In Executive producer surname,
initial(s) (Executive Producer), TV series name. City, State of original channel:
Network, Studio or Distributor

TV Programme Example:
Catlin, M., and Walley-Beckett, Moire (Writers), & Johnson, R (Director). (2010). Fly
[Television series episode]. In Schnauz, T. (Executive Producer). Breaking bad. Culver
City, CA: Sony Pictures Television

L. Song
The basic format to cite a song in APA format is as follows:

Song Example:
Beyonce, Diplo, MNEK, Koenig, E., Haynie, E., Tillman, J., and Rhoden, S.M. (2016)
Hold up [Recorded by Beyonce]. On Lemonade [visual album]. New York, NY:
Parkwood Records (August 16)

M. Website

When citing a website, the basic structure is as follows:

Author surname, initial(s). (Year, month day). Title. Retrieved from URL

Website example:

Mitchell, J.A. (2017, May 21). How and when to reference. Retrieved from
https://www.howandwhentoreference.com.

Page 10 of 18
 MLA IN-TEXT CITATION GUIDE

This is a complete guide to MLA 8 (Modern Language Association, 8th edition) in-text
and reference list citations. This easy-to-use, comprehensive guide makes citing any
source easy.

A. One Author
In-text references must be included following the use of a quote or paraphrase
taken from another piece of work.

In-text citations are citations within the main body of the text and refer to a direct
quote or paraphrase. In-text citations:

 Correspond to a reference in the main reference list.

 They contain the first word of the reference, which is usually the author‟s
surname, and the page, or page-range in which the reference is found.
 They come directly after the quote or parenthetical or in a natural pause.

Using the example author James A. Mitchell they take the form:

Mitchell states “...” (189) Or (Mitchell 189)

B. More than One Author

For 2-3 authors, all the names can be listed along with the page number in the
following format:

(Mitchell, Thomson, and Smith 189)

For 3+ authors, only the surname of the first author should be listed followed by „et
al‟:

(Mitchell et al. 189

C. No Authors
In this case, the whole title italicised, a shortened title within quotation marks or an
article or webpage in quotation marks should be used in place of the author. Using
the example of a book „A guide to citation‟ and an article „APA Citation guide‟, this
takes the form:

Book Title: A Guide to Citation states “..” (189) Or (A Guide to Citation 189)

Page 11 of 18
 Article Title: “APA Citation Guide” states “...” (189) Or (“APA Citation Guide” 189)

D. Authors with Multiple Cited Works

Include a shortened version of the title within the citation:

(Mitchell, A Guide to Citation 189)

E. Authors with the Same Surname

In this case, include an initial:

(J. Mitchell 76) and (M. Mitchell 100-120)

F. No Page Number
If the source includes another numbered pattern (eg chapters, paragraphs) then
these numbers can be used instead:

(Mitchell, ch. 7) ch referring to chapter.

If there are no numbered sections then the name is quoted alone.

G. Citing a Quote or Parenthetical

In these cases, use „qtd.‟ before the name:

(qtd. In Mitchell 189)

H. Citing Audio-Visual Sources

In these cases a time stamp must be used in place of the page number in the form
hh:mm:ss:

(Mitchell 00:18:23)

MLA WORKS CITED GUIDE

In MLA8 format, the reference list is usually titled the „Works-Cited List‟. This is a list of
all the sources referenced within the document and contains the author's name, source
title, date of publication and more information which varies depending on the source
type.

A MLA Works-Cited List must:

 Begin in a new page at the end of the document

Page 12 of 18
  Be ordered alphabetically by name of first author (or title if the author is
unknown, in terms of alphabetising this „a‟, „an‟ and „the‟ should be ignored)
o If there are multiple works by the same author these are ordered by date,
if the works are in the same year they are ordered alphabetically by the
title
 Entries must be double spaced
 Second and subsequent lines of a source must be indented 0.5inches from the
margin
 If multiple works by the same author are listed, the first reference must contain
the full name but subsequent references should have author name replaced with
„- - -‟
 Contain full references for all in-text references used

1. Core Components

Notes:

 If adding something that isn‟t in the original source, add it within square brackets
 If the date is approximate, add „circa.‟ before it
 If you are unsure about the components in the source, follow it with a „?‟
Page 13 of 18
A. Books
Book referencing is the most basic type of reference. The basic format is as follows:

Book Referencing Example:

Mitchell, James A. A Guide to Citation. 2nd ed, My London Publisher, 2017.

Note: Author name. Title. Version, Publisher, Year of Publication.

B. Edited and Translated Books

The format of these is the same as a book reference except that the editor or
translator must be specified. This is done in one of two ways:

1. Editor or translator is added after the names in the author list. This is done if the
editing or translation is the focus of you work. Eg Mendeley, James, editor.
2. The names are added to the contributors list preceded by „translated by‟ or
„edited by‟. This is done if the author or work itself is the focus of your work, no the
editing or translation. Eg Edited by James Mendeley,

The two possible formats are as followed:

Last name, first name, editor. Title. Title of container, Contributors, Version, Number,
Publisher, Year of publication. Or

Last name, first name. Title. Title of container, edited by Contributors, Version,
Number, Publisher, Year of publication.

Page 14 of 18
 Edited and Translated Book Examples:

Troy, Ben N., editor, and Mary Smith. A Guide to Citation Rules. Oxford Publishers,
2015.

Coyne, Kate and Nick A. Smith. MLA Citation Rules. Translated by Chris Andrews,
New York Publishings, 2004.

C. E-Books
An e-book is considered to be a different version of a book, so the e-book identity
is entered into the version section of the regular book reference template. Specific
providers of e-book can be referenced for instance kindle which is referenced as
„kindle ed.‟.

The basic format of an e-book citation is:

Last name, first name. Title. Title of container, Contributors, edition, e-book,
Number, Publisher, Year of publication.

E-Book Example:

Troy, Ben N., et al. A Guide to Citation. 2nd ed, e-book, New York Publishers, 2010.

D. Chapter (or Essay) in a Book

This reference takes a slightly different form to the book reference

Chapter Example:

Mitchell, James A. “MLA Citation”. A Guide to Citation, My London Publisher, 2017,

pp. 107-134

E. Articles
The basic format for citing journal, newspaper and magazine articles is the same:

Page 15 of 18
 There are variations between journal, magazine and newspaper article references
within the date and title of container sections.

Journal Example:

Mitchell, James A. “Citation: Why is it Important”. Mendeley Journal, vol. 4, no. 6,

Summer 1999, pp .607-674.

Newspaper/Magazine Example:

Mitchell, James A. “How Citation Changed the Research World”. The Mendeley,
weekend edition, vol. 62, no. 9, 6 September 2017, pp. 70-81.

Online Example:

The only change when referencing an online article is the addition of the database
title and a URL or DOI corresponding to the article.

Mitchell, James A. “Citation: Why is it Important”. Mendeley Journal, vol. 4, no. 6,

Summer 1999, pp .607-674. Journal
Database, https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/reference-manager

F. Image
The basic format to cite an image is as follows:

Page 16 of 18
 Creator‟s surname, other names. “Title of Image”. Website Title, contributors,
reproduction, number, date, URL.

Image Example:

Millais, Sir John Everett. “Ophelia.” Tate, N01506, 1851-

2, www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia-n01506

G. Film
The basic structure of a film reference is:

Director name, director. “Title of film”. Contributors, Distributor, year of release.

Medium

However, the title and director name can be swapped if the focus of your work is
not on the director:

“Title of film”.Directed by director name, contributors, Distributor, year of release.

Medium

The medium is not needed for MLA8 citation but it is useful for the reader. If the
film is from online, the medium should be swapped for a URL.

Film Example:

Hitchcock, Alfred, director. “Rear Window”. Performances by Grace Kelly and James
Stewart, Paramount Pictures, 1954. DVD

H. TV Series
The format is similar to that of a movie reference but includes the episode and
season number:

“Episode Title”. Program Title, created by Creator Name, contributors, season #,

episode #. Network, Year of Publication.

TV Series Example

“Fly.” Breaking Bad, written by Sam Catlin and Moira Walley-Beckett, directed by
Rian Johnson, season 3, episode 10, AMC, 2010.

Page 17 of 18
I. Music in MLA Format
The basic structure for referencing music is:

Author name(s). “Title of the Track”. Title of the Album, other contributers, version,
Record Label, Year of Publication

Music Example:

Beyonce. “Hold Up”. Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016.

J. Webpage

The basic format for this is:

Last name of author, first name. “Title of page/document”. Title of overall

webpage, date, URL.

Website Example:

Mitchell, James A., and Martha Thomson. How and When to Reference. 25 Jan.
2017: https://www.howandwhentoreference.com/.

Works Cited:

“About Documentation Styles.” The Writing Center,

https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/documentation/about-documentation-styles/.
Accessed 28 Sept. 2023.

“APA Format Citation Guide. Mendeley. https://wwww.mendeley.com/guides/apa-

citation-guide/. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023

“MLA 8 Citation Guide.” Mendeley. https://wwww.mendeley.com/guides/mla-citation-

guide/. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023

Page 18 of 18