How Do I Cite Direct Evidence From an Article?

Research papers and publications often require using other articles and publications to support an assertion or provide evidence. These outside sources contribute to the article by providing credibility to the writer's stance. If information from an outside article is used, then the writer is required to correctly attribute the work in the research paper or publication. Failure to do so will result in the paper being considered plagiarism. Use a few simple steps to ensure the direct evidence from the article is correctly cited.

Gather the information from the article needed to correctly attribute the evidence to its author. Collect the author's full name, the title of the article, the name of the periodical it appears in, the date that the article was published, the page number in which the information appears in its original publication, and the medium of publication (such as print or web). Make sure that the title of the article is in quotation marks, and the periodical title is italicized.

Insert an in-text citation next to the direct evidence. Locate the section of the paper you're writing that uses the direct evidence. Provide a signal word or phrase to introduce the direct evidence. The phrase should include the author's name. For example, a writer can use the lead in: "According to John Doe," followed by the direct evidence.

Place the page number in parenthesis following the sentence featuring the direct evidence. If the sentence with evidence does not include the author's name, place the author's last name before the page number, also in parentheses. It should look like this: (Doe 15).

Create a full citation for the article in the "Works Cited" list. Place the author's last name first, then their first name, followed by a period. Place the title of the article next (in quotation marks), followed by a period. Insert the italicized title of publication next, followed by the date of publication (end with a colon mark). Place the page numbers next, followed by a period. Insert the medium of publication followed by a period. For articles in magazines, the citation should look like: Last, First. "Citation Article." Magazine Title 20 Mar. 2011: 70-71. Print. For newspaper articles, the citation should look like this: Last, First. "My Article." New York Times 21 May 2011 late ed.: A1. Print.

Make a few changes to the citation for web based articles. Instead of the title of publication, use the title of website (in italics). Include any version numbers available (such as revisions, posting dates, volumes, or issue numbers). Gather the publisher information, any page numbers, the date you accessed the material, the date the article was published and the medium of publication (web). If required by a professor, add the URL at the end of the citation. The web citation should look like this: Last, First. " Web Citation." Title of Website. Title of Publisher., 16 Aug. 2010. Web. 4 May 2011. If no publisher name is available, type "n.p." in its place. Also, type "n.d." if no publishing date was given.