Skip to Main Content
Stony Brook University

Citation Guides

This guide can help you learn how to properly format your bibliographies and papers in AMA, APA, Chicago and MLA citation styles, and avoid plagiarism.

Citing Other Formats

Remember, all citations should be double-spaced and have hanging indentation!

 

Type Of Source Entry on Reference List Example
Personal Interview Lastname, Firstname. Personal interview. Day Month Year. Purdue, Pete. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2000.
Lecture or Speech IProvide the speaker’s name. Then, give the title of the speech (if any) in quotation marks. Follow with the name of the meeting and organization, the location of the occasion, and the date. Use the descriptor that appropriately expresses the type of presentation (e.g. Address, Lecture, Reading, Keynote speech, Guest Lecture).  Stein, Bob. Computers and Writing Conference. Purdue University. Union Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. 23 May 2003. Keynote address.
Painting, Sculpture, Photograph Reproduction Lastname, Firstname of Artist. Title of Artwork. Year produced. Name of the institution (e.g., a gallery or museum) that houses it, City where it is located. If the artwork is being reproduced in a book, include Title of Book. By Firstname Lastname. Place of Publication: Publisher. Page Number. Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Gardener's Art Through the Ages. 10th ed. By Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace. 939. Print.
Television Program Begin with the title of the episode in quotation marks. Provide the name of the series or program in italics. Also include the network name, call letters of the station followed by the city, and the date of broadcast. End with the publication medium (e.g. Television, Radio). For television episodes on Videocassette or DVD refer to the “Recorded Television Episodes” section below. "The Blessing Way." The X-Files. Fox. WXIA, Atlanta. 19 Jul. 1998. Television.
DVD List films by their title. Include the name of the director, the distributor, and the release year. If relevant, list performer names after the director’s name. Use the abbreviation perf. to head the list. End the entry with the appropriate medium of publication (e.g. DVD, VHS, Laser disc). Ed Wood. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette. Touchstone, 1994. DVD.
Entire Albums

List sound recordings in such a way that they can easily be found by readers. Generally, citations begin with the artist name. They might also be listed by composers (comp.) or performers (perf.). Otherwise, list composer and performer information after the album title.

Use the appropriate abbreviation after the person’s name and a comma, when needed. Put individual song titles in quotation marks. Album names are italicized. Provide the name of the recording manufacturer followed by the publication date (or n.d., if date is unknown). List the appropriate medium at the end of the entry (e.g. CD, LP, Audiocassette). For MP3 recordings, see the “Digital Files” section below.

Note: If you know and desire to list the recording date, include this information before the manufacturer name. Use the abbreviation for “recorded” (Rec.) and list the recording date (dd mm year format) before the manufacturer name.

Foo Fighters. In Your Honor. RCA, 2005.

 

Nirvana. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nevermind. Geffen, 1991. Audiocassette.

 

Beethoven, Ludwig van. The 9 Symphonies. Perf. NBC Symphony Orchestra. Cond. Arturo Toscanini. RCA, 2003. CD.

 

Hedberg, Mitch. Strategic Grill Locations. Comedy Central, 2003. CD

Published interview List the interview by the name of the interviewee. Gaitskill, Mary. Interview with Charles Bock. Mississippi Review 27.3 (1999): 129-50. Print.
Conference Proceedings Cite published conference proceedings like a book. If the date and location of the conference are not part of the published title, add this information after the published proceedings title. The medium of publication is Print. LastName, FirstName, ed. Conference Title that Does Not Include Conference Date and Location. Conference Date, Conference Location. Place of publication: Publisher, Date of Publication. Print.
Films

List films (in theaters or not yet on DVD or video) by their title. Include the name of the director, the film studio or distributor, and the release year. If relevant, list performer names after the director’s name. Use the abbreviation perf. to head the list. List film as the medium of publication. To cite a DVD or other video recording, see “Recorded Films and Movies” below.

To emphasize specific performers (perf.) or directors (dir.), begin the citation with the name of the desired performer or director, followed by the appropriate abbreviation.

The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1995. Film.

 

 

Lucas, George, dir. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977. Film.

Recorded Television Episodes Cite recorded television episodes like films (see above). Begin with the episode name in quotation marks. Follow with the series name in italics. When the title of the collection of recordings is different than the original series (e.g., the show Friends is in DVD release under the title Friends: The Complete Sixth Season), list the title that would be help researchers locate the recording. Give the distributor name followed by the date of distribution. End with the medium of publication (e.g. DVD, Videocassette, Laser disc). The One Where Chandler Can't Cry." Friends: The Complete Sixth Season. Writ. Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen. Dir. Kevin Bright. Warner Brothers, 2004. DVD.
Digital Files (jpeg, mp3, pdf, etc.) Determine the type of work to cite (e.g. article, image, sound recording) and cite appropriately. End the entry with the name of the digital format (e.g. PDF, JPEG file, Microsoft Word file, MP3). If the work does not follow traditional parameters for citation, give the author’s name, the name of the work, the date of creation, and the medium of publication. Use Digital file when the medium cannot be determined.

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Moonlight Sonata. Crownstar, 2006. MP3.

Smith, George. “Pax Americana: Strife in a Time of Peace.” 2005. Microsoft Word file.

Bentley, Phyllis. “Yorkshire and the Novelist.” The Kenyon Review 30.4 (1968): 509-22. JSTOR. PDF file.