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Chemistry

Citation Styles

APA Manual of Style Book Cover

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) is commonly used in the social sciences. It provides two different format styles, one for students and one for professionals. Confirm which style you should use with your instructor. 

Use your APA manual or the links below to learn more about APA requirements.

Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) is commonly used in the humanities. It provides the option of two different documentation styles, so ask whether your instructor requires the author-date style or the notes-bibliography style. 

Use your CMS manual or the links below to learn more about CMS requirements.

Modern Language Association

The Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook is commonly used in the humanities. It is particularly popular for English courses, but confirm with your instructor before using it.

Use your MLA manual or the links below to learn more about MLA requirements.

Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (called Turabian style) is a modified form of the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) and is commonly used for student work in the humanities. Confirm with your instructor before using it.

Use your Turabian manual or the links below to learn more about Turabian requirements.

Citation Makers

A citation generator may serve as a starting place to help you create your citations. However, PLEASE DO NOT RELY ONLY ON A CITATION GENERATOR. They often do not include all of the needed information and contain errors in formatting and punctuation.

If you use a citation generator, you must cross-check your citations with a citation style website, like the Purdue Owl (Online Writing Lab), which will show you each part needed for each kind of citation you are creating.

Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism

This short guide will explain plagiarism and how to avoid it.

Writing Guides - No Picture

If you need writing assistance, contact Academic Support and Tutoring to meet with a free writing tutor, or use the guides below.

Paraphrases and Quotes

Not sure what the difference is between paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting? 

Paraphrasing: "Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly." from Purdue Owl

Summarizing: A summary is "much shorter that the original source. If your aim is to summarize a long passage, look for the author's most important ideas." from The Curious Writer

Quoting: A quote contains the exact words from a source. Don't forget to use quotation marks and cite the source.

If you need further help, try these websites:

Academic Support and Tutoring

A bright yellow notebook lies in the center of a desk with the word "tutoring" written on it.

Academic Support and Tutoring (AST) provides free tutoring to MCC students (including writing and citation assistance) and free support and tutorials for college-related software.

AST offers in-person support in the Learning Commons, located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Learning Technology Center (LTC). You can also reach out to AST via phone, Zoom, or email.

Use the link above to learn more about AST and locate its contact information and hours. 

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.