The exact details depend on your citation style, but the general techniques are the same for most citation styles. You can either cite the required information in the text as you write or you can include the information in parentheses. For details specific to your style, see the appropriate style guide. These examples are in APA style.
In these examples, we are citing a book published in 1999 and written by someone with the last name Edwards.
Example 1:
There are five basic skills of drawing (Edwards, 1999).
Example 2:
Edwards (1999) says there are five basic skills of drawing.
Example 3:
A technique involving five basic skills of drawing was first described in a book published in 1999 (Edwards).
Example 4:
In her 1999 book, Edwards demonstrated five basic skills of drawing.
Note: If you have an exact quote from the source, put the quote in quotation marks, or indented paragraph if it's long, and include a page number. Like this:
In her 1999 book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Betty Edwards wrote, "The ability to draw depends on one's ability to see the way an artist sees."
OR
According to Betty Edwards (1999):
The ability to draw depends on one's ability to see the way an artist sees. This kind of seeing, for most people, requires teaching, because the artist's way of seeing is very specific and very different from the ways we ordinarily use vision to navigate our lives.
Purdue Owl Writing Lab is a great resource for learning more about citations in APA, MLA, or Chicago. For more help, ask a librarian.
updated 7/6/2020 kas
