If you're writing an essay for a school assignment or creating a presentation, you may want to use a newspaper article as a source. Generally, newspaper articles are cited differently than books or scientific journal articles. The citation format varies somewhat between the "Language Association" (MLA), "American Psychological Association" (APA) and Chicago styles. On the other hand, the citation also varies if you are going to cite the article from a newspaper's website instead of the print version.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: MLA
Step 1. Start with the name of the author
If the article you want to cite has a signature or rubric, the bibliographic citation must begin with the author's last name. Put a comma after the last name, then add the author's first name. End this part of the quote with a period.
- Example: Kent, Clark.
- If there is no author, go to the next item in the citation.
Step 2. Write the title of the article in quotation marks
After the author's name, write the title of the full article with the subtitle, if any. Separate the title and subtitle (if any) with a semicolon. Use the uppercase format for a title, that is, capitalize only the first word and proper names. Place a period at the end of the title, outside of the quotation marks.
Example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Gotham; Superman Stands Out"
Step 3. Write the name of the newspaper in italics
After the title of the article, identify the newspaper in which it appeared. Even if you found it on the Internet, use the name of the newspaper itself, not the name of the website. If the city is not included in the newspaper name, put it in brackets after the name. Put a comma after this part of the quote.
- If you put the city name in brackets, it doesn't have to be italicized.
- Example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Gotham; Superman Stands Out. The Daily Planet [Metropolis],
Step 4. Enter the date the article was published and the page number
After the name of the newspaper, write the date it was published in a day, month, and year format. Write a comma, then the page number the article appeared on. If there is no page number, put a period after the date.
- Example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Gotham; Superman Stands Out". The Daily Planet [Metropolis], July 17, 2017, p. A1.
- If the article appears on the Internet without a page number, simply put a period after the publication date.
Step 5. Name the database or web page of an online article. If you found it in an online newspaper database, put the name of the database in italics. If you found the article on the newspaper page, include the direct permalink to the article without the "http:" part of the URL. End the quote with a period.
- "Villains take over Gotham; Superman stands by. The Daily Planet [Metropolis], July 17, 2017, p. A1. DC News.
- An example with URL: Kent, Clark. "Villains take over Gotham; Superman stands by. The Daily Planet [Metropolis], July 17, 2017, p. A1. Www.dailyplanet.com/superman_spurns_gotham.
Step 6. Use the author's name and page number for in-text citations
Typically, the MLA uses parenthetical citations within the text of the written work or presentation so that the reader has a reference to the full citation on the “References” page.
- For example: (Kent, A1)
- If an author is not mentioned, enclose one or a few words from the beginning of the title in quotation marks within the parenthesis. If there is no page number, just skip this part.
Method 2 of 3: APA
Step 1. Start with the author's last name and first initial
If the newspaper article has multiple authors, list them in the order they appear in the rubric, separated with commas. Write "y" before the author's last name. The point after the initial is also the end point at the end of this section.
- Example: Clark, K.
- If the article has no author, begin the bibliographic entry with the title of the article in sentence format. Capitalize only the first word of the sentence and proper names.
Step 2. Put the publication date in parentheses after the author's name
Write the year the article was first published, then put a comma. Put the name of the month in non-abbreviated form and then the day. Close the parentheses and put a period after them.
- Example: Clark, K. (July 17, 2017).
- For articles with a different author, put the date in parentheses after the article title.
Step 3. Write the title of the article with the capital letter of a normal sentence
After the date, write the title of the article with any subtitles. Just capitalize the first word and proper names. Put a single period at the end or some other punctuation mark, as needed.
Example: Clark, K. (July 17, 2017). Villains take Gotham; Superman stays on the sidelines
Step 4. Italicize the name of the newspaper with the page number
For a print edition, include the section and page number after the name of the newspaper. The page number is not italicized, but is followed by a period. If there is no number, as in the case of articles found online, put a period after the name of the newspaper.
Example: Clark, K. (July 17, 2017). Villains take Gotham; Superman stays on the sidelines. The Daily Planet, p. A1
Step 5. Add the URL of the web page or the database, if applicable
Start with the words "recovered from" and let your readers know where you found the article. The APA style only requires a URL from the newspaper itself, not a direct permalink to the article.
- An example from a database: Villains take over Gotham; Superman stays on the sidelines. The Daily Planet, p. A1. Recovered from Collected DC News.
- A URL Example: Villains Take Gotham; Superman stays on the sidelines. The Daily Planet, p. A1. Recovered from
Step 6. Use the author's last name and year for in-text citations
In addition to the bibliography, the APA style requires the use of parenthetical citations within the text each time you paraphrase or quote a source verbatim. If you're citing directly, include the page number if possible.
- Example of a paraphrase: (Kent, 2017)
- An example of a literal quote: (Kent, 2017, p. A1)
Method 3 of 3: Chicago
Step 1. Begin a bibliography entry with the author's name
If the author of the article is listed, write their last name first, followed by a comma and their first name. Put a period after the author's name.
- Example: Kent, Clark.
- If the author is not mentioned, begin with the name of the newspaper in italics, followed by a comma. For example: The Daily Planet.
Step 2. Include the title of the article in quotation marks
Use the uppercase format of a title, that is, capitalize only the first word and proper names. To include a subtitle, put a colon after the title and write it. Put a period or other punctuation mark at the end of the title, outside of the exclamation points.
For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Gotham; Superman Stands Out"
Step 3. Include the name of the newspaper in italics
The name of the newspaper that published the article is placed after the title. Put a period after the name of the newspaper.
For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Gotham; Superman Stands Out". The Daily Planet
Step 4. Write the date the article was published
Start with the name of the full month, then the day followed by a comma. End with the year the article was published and put a period after the year. Only write the year if the month and day are not mentioned. For online articles, include the date the article was most recently updated, if possible.
Example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Gotham; Superman Stands Out". The Daily Planet. July 17, 2017
Step 5. Copy the URL and the date of access in the case of an online newspaper
If you accessed the article online, include the full permanent link for the article. After the link, open parentheses and write the word "consulted" followed by the day, month and year in which you accessed the article. Place a period after the closing parenthesis.
For example: Kent, Clark. "Villains Take Gotham; Superman Stands Out". The Daily Planet. July 17, 2017. www.dailyplanet.com/superman_spurns_gotham (accessed July 19, 2017)
Step 6. Reverse the order of the author's name and use commas in a footnote
Chicago style normally requires you to put a footnote in the text when you paraphrase or quote the source verbatim. The format is similar to the bibliography, except that the author's name is written first. Also, commas and not periods are used between the elements of the citation.
- For example: Clark Kent, "Villains Take Gotham; Superman Stands Out" The Daily Planet, July 17, 2017. www.dailyplanet.com/superman_spurns_gotham (accessed July 19, 2017).
- After citing the article in a footnote at work, please use a shortened form in the following notes. The short form is the author's last name followed by a shortened version of the title in quotation marks. For example: Kent, "Villains take Gotham."