Appropriate Citation Styles for Academic Papers
What is the required citation method accepted by the Religious Studies Department?
The Religious Studies Department is committed to the academic development of all our students. As you continue to grow in your academic career, it is important that you understand the appropriate methods of citing the works you will use in your papers, both during your time in the Department and beyond. There are several styles that can be used to cite works in your writing. The three that the Religious Studies Department will recognize are:
- The American Psychological Association citation and format style (APA Style)
- The Modern Language Association citation and format style (MLA Style)
- The Chicago Manual of Style
Copies of these manuals can be found at Bobst Library, along with other information regarding research writing. More information is available on the Bobst website.
Additional Resources:
NYU Libraries also recommends the OWL, Purdue University's excellent Online Writing Lab, as a resource to help you format your citations appropriately. The OWL website gives detailed information and examples of the three styles listed above.
You are also encouraged to visit NYU's Writing Center, housed in the Expository Writing Program, for assistance with your writing. In addition to numerous resources available on the Writing Center's website, you can schedule an appointment for one-on-one assistance to discuss any questions you may have regarding the formatting, content, and/or structure of your paper. The Writing Center also accepts walk-in appointments on a first-come, first-serve basis.
For access to NYU's Virtual Reference Shelf, writing exercises, and important information about plagarism, visit the EWP resource center.
Remember that the main purpose of citation is to provide the reader with a road map back to the source of your argument. Uniformity in the structure of these citations contributes to the community of scholarly literature to which you belong by allowing your colleagues to follow you in your writings, and by providing resources to those who may want to expand on, respond to, or retrace your steps in the future. Confusing or inappropriately structured citation will serve to distract the reader and, ultimately, detract from the quality of your paper.