African-American Studies

Citations are references to other materials that are used in an academic paper. You use a citation when you have quoted, summarized, paraphrased, mentioned, or been inspired by another item. Citations are an important component of scholarly publication, as they credit other scholars, support your findings, and help you avoid plagiarizing someone else's work.

There are hundreds of types of citations used in publications, but the most common in academia are APA, MLA, ASA, Chicago, and Harvard. The ASA style was created by the American Sociological Association. Scholarly writing in social science generally uses ASA or APA (American Psychological Association) citation styles.

You add citations to your paper in two locations: in the text of your writing and at the end of your paper.