Spanish Studies Capstone 2022

Want input or help with your overall writing process? You can get one-on-one writing help through the CLASS Program in Tran Library! 

Want help finding sources in English or Spanish? Feel free to reach out to me: Librarian Eva Guggemos. I often sit down with seniors for an hour of one-on-one time finding scholarly or original to add to your paper! Email: guggemos@pacificu.edu, or visit my office on the 2nd Floor of Tran Library in the Archives. 

Citation styles provide rules for how to cite your sources. The three most common citation styles are APA, MLA and Chicago. APA tends to be used for business and the harder social sciences; MLA for literature; and Chicago for history, political sciences and other primary source-heavy disciplines. Although each is different, they usually use the same building blocks:

• Author name
• Title of the work 
• If applicable, the title of the larger work that it's in, in the case of journal articles, book chapters, etc.
• Date it was published
• Page number(s)

Very often, you can Copy/Paste Citations directly from Databases.

Most databases now have built-in tools that let you generate citations. Citation tools usually look like this: 
    or,

After clicking on the "Cite" button, select the citation style that you prefer, then copy/paste the citation. 

Double-Checking your Citations

It's still a very good idea to become familiar with the actual rules of the citation styles so that you can correct the auto-generated citations, because they often have small errors in them. To see examples and explanations of the rules for the three most common styles: 

OWL @ Purdue Guide to APA Style
OWL @ Purdue Guide to MLA Style
OWL @ Purdue Guide to Chicago Style
We recommend the OWL@Purdue site. It describes not just citation styles, but also how to format your paper, etc. If you need more detail check out the printed manuals for each style, which are available in the Library. 

There are many other citation styles beyond these three. See this guide to choosing the right style, with links to more resources for styles such as ACS, AMA, NLM, CSE others. 

Most online book/article databases provide citations automatically that you can cut/paste into your paper. Examples:
 

• Google Scholar
  Enter the title of practically any book / article. When you find the one you want, click on the Quotation Mark, then copy/paste the appropriate citation form.
  
   
• Boxer Search (Pacific U. Library)
  Just like Google Scholar: search for practically any book / article. When you find the one you want, click on the Quotation Mark, then copy/paste the appropriate citation form.
  
  

Other Citation Tools & Apps

EasyBib
This is one of several free online citation generators that will create citations that you can cut-and-paste into your paper. BE CAREFUL to use the correct tab (Book, Journal, etc.) and proofread the results!

Zotero
Very cool free app that lets you grab citations from anywhere online with one or two clicks, plus has lots of other features, such as formatting entire bibliographies, note-taking tools, online back-up, integration with Word, etc. Very nice but does have a learning curve. See Pacific's online guide to using Zotero.

Mendeley
Yet another app for citations; similar to Zotero but you may find it easier to use.