Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles--MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More

by Charles Lipson

In his bestselling guide, Doing Honest Work in How to Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism, and Achieve Real Academic Success , veteran teacher Charles Lipson brought welcome clarity to the principles of academic honesty as well as to the often murky issues surrounding plagiarism in the digital age.  Thousands of students have turned to Lipson for no-nonsense advice on how to cite sources properly—and avoid plagiarism—when writing their research papers. With his latest book, Cite Right , Lipson once again provides much-needed counsel in a concise and affordable handbook for students and researchers. Building on Doing Honest Work in College , Lipson’s new book offers a wealth of information on an even greater range of citation styles and details the intricacies of many additional kinds of sources.  Lipson’s introductory essay, “Why Cite,” explains the reasons it is so important to use citations—and to present them accurately—in research writing.  In subsequent chapters, Lipson explains the main citation styles students and researchers are likely to encounter in their academic   Chicago; MLA; APA; CSE (biological sciences); AMA (medical sciences); ACS (chemistry, mathematics, and computer science); physics, astrophysics, and astronomy; Bluebook and ALWD (law); and AAA (anthropology and ethnography). His discussions of these styles are presented simply and clearly with examples drawn from a wide range of source types crossing all disciplines, from the arts and humanities to science, law, and medicine. Based on deep experience in the academic trenches, Cite Right is an accessible, one-stop resource—a must-have guide for students and researchers alike who need to prepare citations in any of the major disciplines and professional studies. 

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Textbooks

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2006

Reviews

[Kevin Keating]

This book is pretty good. Clearly explains with several examples how to properly cite source material.

[Nostalgia Reader]

Excellent resource, especially for students who have to use multiple citation styles. In-depth look at Chicago, MLA, and APA, as well as lesser known styles, like AAA, AMA, and those for math and science. It does not make any mention of Blue Book style, which is a tad unfortunate, but most people using that style will probably already have the Blue Book manual.

For Chicago style, it provides an example of a first note, short note, and bibliographic entry, which is incredibly helpful. MLA and APA, as well as Chicago, cover standard resources, as well as more obscure ones, like sheet music, blog entries, and advertisements. Multiple examples of one type of citation are given as well, making it easy to see what you can leave out, or how to format a citation if certain information doesn't exist.

Highly recommended, especially if you use a lot of odd and obscure types of sources like I do.

[Danielle Perez]

Very helpful when writing a paper in APA format.

[Kemlo]

I refer to this text frequently. Great quick reference for adapting citations to whatever style is required.

[Richard Banks]

Excellent, handy source for the writer. Clearcut information for citing research. I refer to it often.

[Cathy Craig]

I'll rate it after I get my grades back...