The OWL To The Rescue

We’ve all been there.  It’s 3 a.m and you’ve been frantically working to finish a huge research paper; the only thing left is…the bibliography.

The hair-pulling and screaming ensues.

Photo by Jenny Kaczorowski. View CC license here.

Many academics find themselves frustrated by the conventions for creating citations, both in-text and in bibliographies.  The rules can feel tedious and arbitrary; a period here, an italicized number followed by an un-italicized number enclosed in parentheses there. It’s enough to make anyone want to give up…

Photo by papertrix. View CC license here.

One of the best resources to combat this frustration is the Purdue Online Writing Lab, or the OWL for short. While the entire site is chock-full of information, the research and citation resources section is a dream come true.

With guides for APA, MLA, and Chicago Style, the OWL provides clear explanations and examples of how to cite a variety of resources.

Busy researchers will be thrilled with the straightforward presentation style and clarity of examples.

If citation guidance isn’t enough for you, the OWL offers all the necessary details to format and style your paper correctly, including how to properly use tables and figures, statistics, abbreviations, and more.

Better yet, you can even view a sample paper to see how all of these rules come together in a single document.

The next time you find yourself stuck or unsure how to proceed with your citations, visit the OWL for answers.

Don’t forget to check out Fielding Library’s Quick Reference Guides—we have one which lists more resources for citation help!