How to Write a Literature Review - A Self-Guided Tutorial

As part of your lit review, you'll need to provide a list of references -- your professors want to know where you found your information. 

Your professor will also require that you use a specific format ("style") for citing your references, such as one of these: 

• APA (American Psychological Association)
• MLA (Modern Language Association)

The Library provides an online guide to help you cite your sources correctly in multiple styles.

Citations are important because:

They help others find the information that you used.

They help establish the credibility of your own research.

They connect your work to the work of other scholars.

It is one way that scholars enter into a dialogue with each other.

It is a way to honor and acknowledge the work of others who have made your own research possible.

Official Style Manuals

There are many different types of academic and professional writing styles. The four guidebooks below represent some of the major ones. Use these guides to learn how professional researchers and writers prepare their manuscripts for publication or sharing.

Regardless of which style you use, you must include the same basic bibliographic information when citing a source.