Citation Cheat Sheets

Download printable PDF cheat sheets for quick reference while writing your papers

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Choose Your Citation Format

Paraphrase (parenthetical)

Climate change affects biodiversity (Smith, 2020).

Paraphrase (signal phrase)

Smith (2020) argues that climate change affects biodiversity.

Direct quote

The author states, "climate change is urgent" (Smith, 2020, p. 45).

Block quote (40+ words)

Indent 0.5 inches, no quotes, citation after period (Smith, 2020, p. 45).

2 authors

(Smith & Jones, 2020)

3+ authors

(Smith et al., 2020)

Group author (first)

(National Institutes of Health [NIH], 2020)

Group author (subsequent)

(NIH, 2020)

No author

("Article Title," 2020)

No date

(Smith, n.d.)

Multiple works

(Jones, 2019; Smith, 2020)

Secondary source

(as cited in Smith, 2020)

❌ Wrong

Use "and" between authors → Use "&"

❌ Wrong

Missing page # for direct quote → Always include p. #

❌ Wrong

Using et al. for 2 authors → Use & for 2 authors

✓ Remember

Use past tense or present perfect when signal phrasing