Question 1

What is an in-text citation?

Accepted Answer

An in-text citation briefly acknowledges your source of information in the body of your text (you don't want to pass other people's ideas as your own!). In-text citations should enable your readers to find the corresponding full bibliographic references in your list of works cited (or in footnotes in the case of MHRA).

Examples of in-text citations:

The Harvard and APA styles use the author-date format (Smith, 2015).
The MLA style uses the author's surname without the date (Smith).

With other reference styles, in-text citations are simply a number:

With MHRA, use the number of the footnote containing the full reference.
With Vancouver, use the number of the full reference in the list of works cited.

Question 2

What is a bibliographic reference?

Accepted Answer

A bibliographic reference is the full record of a work you have used, and it should include all the information your readers need to consult it themselves. Unlike in-text citations (brief references in your text) full bibliographic references are given in a list of works cited (and in footnotes if you use a reference style like MHRA).

This is an example of a bibliographic reference in the Harvard style:
: Hickey, M.A. (2011) Get real: reality and mystery. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

Question 3

What title should I give to my list of references?

Accepted Answer

Some reference styles do not specify what you should call your list of references. With Harvard and Vancouver, for example, you can choose your own title unless otherwise instructed, such as Reference list or List or works cited.

Other reference styles, on the other hand, stipulate a specific title:

Works Cited (MLA)
Bibliography (MHRA)
References (APA)

Question 4

Which reference style is best?

Accepted Answer

All reference styles have their pros and cons, and you may have a personal preference for, say, a number system (like Vancouver), or an author-date system (like Harvard or APA), or for a system that supports footnotes (like MHRA). You may also lean toward a reference style that is associated with your subject (e.g. APA, from the American Psychological Association) but bear in mind that APA and other styles are used by writers in many disciplines. It may be that you do not have a choice in the matter: students are often instructed to follow a specific reference style, just as authors of journal articles have to follow the journal's instructions for authors.

Question 5

Do I have to follow the style rules to the letter?

Accepted Answer

If you are given precise instructions on how to use a reference style, you cannot pick and choose how to format your references.

In the absence of specific instructions, you might have the freedom to decide, for example, which of the following two versions of Vancouver to follow (there are many others):

Levin GV. The curiousness of Curiosity. Astrobiology. 2015 Feb 1;15(2):101-103.

Levin GV. The curiousness of Curiosity. Astrobiology. 2015 Feb 1;15(2):101-103.

The golden rule is consistency.

Question 6

What should I do if there is no style rule for what I want to cite?

Accepted Answer

Reference styles cannot specify how to cite absolutely everything, but bear in mind that there are general principles between the various style rules. If you cannot find out how to cite a particular item, try and find the reference format that seems to be the closest match.

The MLA reference style, for example, rests on a template of core elements that can be adapted if what you need to cite is not documented (How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?).

Following style rules and the principles that underpin the rules will ensure consistency.

MLA:	Works Cited
MHRA:	Bibliography
APA:	REFERENCES (in bold capitals)