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Biology Qual - Spring 2024

Bio Qual Research Resources for Spring 2024 at Reed College

When to Cite

For your Biology Qual, pick a citation style and stick with it - consistency is key.

Academic writing requires that you acknowledge use of the intellectual work of others.  These are some of the most common situations that require that you identify and give credit to the work of others:

  • A direct quote from a text.
  • A direct quote from someone else’s writing about that text.
  • Paraphrasing of the ideas of another writer.
  • Paraphrasing the findings of a paper.

It is not necessary to give credit for commonly known facts or expressions ("the sky is blue"). [1]


[1] The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 444-45.

Specific Style Guides

Major Citation Style Manuals

Chicago Manual of Style (Z253.U69 2017 - Online, at the Ref Desk, in Reference, PARC Reference, and in the stacks)
NOTE: There are two versions outlined in Chicago: A, the humanities style, and B, author-date, preferred by social science and science disciplines.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (LB2369.G53 2016 - at the Ref Desk, in Reference, and in the stacks)

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (BF76.7 .P83 2020 - at the Ref Desk, in Reference, PARC Reference, and in the stacks)

How to Cite Film and Video

Citation Style Manual (Which to use!)

Online Citation Generators

Zotero for citation management and generation