You have built citations in MLA, APA and Chicago. Reading them matters just as much: a citation in someone else’s list is a map to a source you may need.
Key idea
Every citation holds the same parts: author, title of the source, container (journal, website or book), volume and issue, publisher, date, pages and location (DOI or URL). Styles change the order and punctuation, not the parts.
Why it works
To find a source, you need its container first: the library or database lists journals, not single articles. Knowing which part is which lets you search the right name and check that a citation is complete.
| Clue | Part it marks |
|---|---|
| Quotation marks around a title (MLA, Chicago) | the title of a source inside a container |
| Italics after an article title | the container (journal or website) |
| vol. 8, no. 1 / 8(1) / 8, no. 1 | volume and issue |
| pp. 15-34 / 15–34 | the pages of the whole article |
| https://doi.org/… | the location (a DOI) |
Worked example: Title or container?
In “Reyes, Thomas, and Anna K. Brandt. “Why Bees Dance: Signals in the Hive.” Field Biology Review, vol. 8, no. 1, 2020, pp. 15-34.”, which is the journal?
- The title in quotation marks is the article.
- The italic title after it is the container.
Answer: Field Biology Review is the journal (the container).
Worked example: Read an APA reference
In “Delgado, M. (2022). Sleep and memory in middle school students. Journal of Student Health, 14(3), 201–219.”, what is 14? What is 3?
- After the italic journal name comes the volume, also italic: 14.
- The issue follows in parentheses, not italic: 3.
Answer: Volume 14, issue 3.
Common mistake
Confusing the title of an article with the title of the journal or website that published it. Check the typeface: in MLA, APA and Chicago, the container is italicized; the article is not. The sources in these examples are invented for practice: the authors, titles and publishers are made up.