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Citation and Plagiarism

Citation Style Guides: ACS Style

ACS style is produced and maintained by the American Chemical Society and is used for research and papers in the field of chemistry. The official style rules are published in The ACS Style Guide. The Library's Reference section has a print copy, or you can access it online here. Chapter 14 covers References.

From the American Chemical Society: Preparing a Research Report

Click into free resources from around the internet, or read below for more tips.

ACS Basics / Tips for Success:

  • Most citations follow a formula
  • Most things can be cited! Even Tweets and PowerPoint presentations
  • Use the right language when talking about citations. There are two basic aspects to proper citation:

1. ​In-text citations​

  • In-text citations use the author-date method in the body of the aper to correspond with the complete reference listing at the end of the paper
  • These are used to evidence quotes, summaries, context, facts and figures -- anything that is not your original thought
    • These can mingle with the test or live at the end of a sentence
      • Example: Evans (2017) argues, "everyone should think citations are great" (p. 10). versus Some people are very enthusiastic about citations (Evans, 2017, p. 10).

2. Reference List (also known as Works Cited page)

  • The list of all sources referenced at the end of the paper
  • For every reference on the list, there should be an in-text citation and vice versa