What is a citation?
A citation formally acknowledges the source of your information and provides the reader with the information required to locate that source.
A citation has two halves:
- In-text citation: a parenthetical reference, footnote, or endnote within the body of your paper
- Full citation in a reference list (a.k.a. works cited or bibliography) at the end of your paper
Citations in almost any specific style contain the following standard components, color coded to the image on the right: 
- ___Title
- ___ Author
- ___ Publication date
- ___ Publisher or source
- ___ Start and end pages
Citations for electronic sources also generally include:
- ___ Digital Object Identifier (DOI), when available
- ___ URL, if no DOI is provided