Read the source, then fill the template
Citing a hard source is like filling in a form. The form has the same boxes every time: who made it, what it is called, where it lives, when it came out. Your job is to look at the source and find what goes in each box. If a box is empty, you skip it or use the rule for empty boxes.
- Before this course: Citing Sources & Avoiding Plagiarism (APA, MLA), course 13.11. You already know quote, paraphrase and summary, APA in-text citations, the References list, MLA in-text citations and the Works Cited list. This course goes further: harder sources.
- APA reference entries have four elements: author, date, title, source. APA's "Elements of reference list entries" page explains each one.
- MLA entries are built from core elements in a fixed order (author, title of source, title of container, contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, location). You list only the elements that apply to your source.
- Start with the source itself, not with a citation tool. Find the elements on the title page, the copyright page, the top or bottom of a webpage, or the video description.
- When something is missing:
| Missing | APA 7 | MLA 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Move the title into the author position | Begin the entry with the title |
| Date | Write n.d. (no date), in the entry and in the text | Leave the date element out |
| Organization is both author and publisher | Use the organization as the author | Skip the author element and list the organization as publisher |
- A DOI or URL is the "location" or "source" part. If a work has a DOI, use it (see course 13.11, lesson 4).
- Pick one source you have not cited yet (a webpage, a chapter, a video).
- Open it and look for: who made it, the title, the date, and where you found it.
- Write the four APA elements on paper: author, date, title, source. Mark any box that is empty.
- Write the MLA core elements on paper in order. Cross out the ones that do not apply.
- For an empty author or date box, apply the rule in the table above.
- Check: every box has either a real value or a rule from the table, and you wrote nothing you could not find on the source.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "Hard sources look scary. They are not. Every citation is a form with boxes."
[Text on screen: APA = author, date, title, source] "APA asks four questions: who, when, what, where."
[Text on screen: MLA = core elements in order] "MLA has a longer template. You only use the boxes that apply."
[Screen: webpage with the author and date boxes highlighted, then one with no author] "No author? APA moves the title up front. MLA starts with the title."
[Host] "Read the source first. Then fill the form."
Take one source with something missing (no author or no date). Write its APA entry and its MLA entry using the missing-information rules above.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.
For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "Citation Practice: complex sources" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Read the source, then fill the template". What the lesson teaches: - Before this course: Citing Sources & Avoiding Plagiarism (APA, MLA), course 13.11. You already know quote, paraphrase and summary, APA in-text citations, the References list, MLA in-text citations and the Works Cited list. This course goes further: harder sources. - APA reference entries have four elements: author, date, title, source. APA's "Elements of reference list entries" page explains each one. - MLA entries are built from core elements in a fixed order (author, title of source, title of container, contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, location). You list only the elements that apply to your source. - Start with the source itself, not with a citation tool. Find the elements on the title page, the copyright page, the top or bottom of a webpage, or the video description. - When something is missing: - Missing - APA 7 - MLA 9 - Author - Move the title into the author position - Begin the entry with the title The exercise I'm working on: Take one source with something missing (no author or no date). Write its APA entry and its MLA entry using the missing-information rules above. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Read the source, then fill the template" from the course "Citation Practice: complex sources". Here's what the lesson says: Citing a hard source is like filling in a form. The form has the same boxes every time: who made it, what it is called, where it lives, when it came out. Your job is to look at the source and find what goes in each box. If a box is empty, you skip it or use the rule for empty boxes. The activity: Take one source with something missing (no author or no date). Write its APA entry and its MLA entry using the missing-information rules above. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- APA Style, Elements of reference list entries: apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/elements-list-ent
- APA Style, Missing reference information: apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/missing-informati
- APA Style, Author-date citation system: apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/a
- MLA Style Center, Works Cited: A Quick Guide: style.mla.org/works-cited/works-cited-a-quick-guide/
- MLA Style Center, How do I cite a source that has no author?: style.mla.org/source-with-no-author/
- MLA Style Center, If the author, publisher, and name of a website are all the same, do I need to list the author or publisher?: style.mla.org/author-publisher-web-site-names/
Chapters in edited books
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Organizations, reports and webpages without a person as author
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Videos, audio and images
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A source inside another source
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Several works by the same author
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Data, statistics, and a final audit
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Final project
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Quiz
In APA, what do you do when a source has no author?
Move the title into the author position.
How is a missing date shown in APA?
n.d., in both the entry and the in-text citation.
In an APA chapter entry, whose name goes in the in-text citation?
The chapter author, not the editor.
How should a group-author abbreviation be used in APA?
Define it in the text on first use, but write the full name in the reference list.
What is the author in an APA YouTube reference?
The channel (account) name, with the full upload date.
What goes where the page number would be for a video quote?
A time stamp, for example 8:51.
What does an APA secondary-source citation look like?
(Original, Year, as cited in Reader Source, Year).
What does MLA use for an indirect source?
"qtd. in" before the source you read.
In the reference list, which entry do you include for an indirect source?
Only the source you actually read.
How does APA tell apart two works by the same author in the same year?
A lowercase letter after the year (2018a, 2018b), in the text and the list.
How does MLA mark later works by the same author?
Three em dashes (———) in place of the author's name.
If a nongovernment organization is both author and publisher in MLA, what do you do?
Skip the author element, start with the title, and list the organization as publisher.
Final exam
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Certificate
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