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Home » How to Cite the Purdue Online Writing Lab Post – APA Style

How to Cite the Purdue Online Writing Lab Post – APA Style

In this post, we will discuss how to properly cite the Purdue Online Writing Lab in MLA, APA, and Chatham (Chicago/Turabian) styles. For the purposes of this post, we will consider all the OWL blogs as one combined entity. While each one of their articles has its own unique style, the general formatting rules apply to all of them.

MLA Style

The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Book provides the following guidance regarding the citation of online sources:

  • Use the Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)
  • Do not use quotation marks when quoting directly from the source
  • Do not assume that the Internet Will Always Be There
  • Do not shorten or elaborate on titles
  • Spell out journal or database volumes and issue numbers
  • Specify the location of sources by using the APA guidelines
  • Do not use all caps for any of the above
  • If you have any questions regarding the proper citation of your work, please consult your professor or an experienced librarian

In accordance with all of the above, we would like to advise our readers that the Purdue Online Writing Lab is an excellent source and may be used without citation.

APA Style

The Associated Press Stylebook provides the following guidance regarding the citation of online sources:

  • Use the Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)
  • Do not use quotation marks when quoting directly from the source
  • Do not assume that the Internet Will Always Be There
  • Do not shorten or elaborate on titles
  • Specify the location of sources by using the APA guidelines
  • Do not use all caps for any of the above
  • If you have any questions regarding the proper citation of your work, please consult your professor or an experienced librarian

In accordance with all of the above, we would like to advise our readers that the Purdue Online Writing Lab is an excellent source and may be used without citation.

Chatham (Chicago/Turabian) Style

The Chicago Style Guide provides the following guidance regarding the citation of online sources:

  • Use the Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)
  • Do not use quotation marks when quoting directly from the source
  • Do not assume that the Internet Will Always Be There
  • Do not shorten or elaborate on titles
  • Specify the location of sources by using the APA guidelines
  • Do not use all caps for any of the above
  • If you have any questions regarding the proper citation of your work, please consult your professor or an experienced librarian

In accordance with all of the above, we would like to advise our readers that the Purdue Online Writing Lab is an excellent source and may be used without citation.

Common Mistakes

It is important to avoid making common citation errors when citing the Purdue Online Writing Lab. Some of the most common mistakes include:

  • Placing the blog post in quotations (“As Jane Jacobs said…”)
  • Citing the blog post as if it were a magazine article (“[Blog article] As Jane Jacobs said…”)
  • Using only the title of the blog post when referring to it (“The Evolution of Blogging in the Digital Age”)
  • Using the first name of the author instead of their last name (“Dr. Jones”)
  • Omitting the location of the blog post when citing it (“[Blog article] As Jane Jacobs said…”)
  • Placing the word “the” between the blog post and the rest of the sentence (“[Blog article] The Evolution of Blogging in the Digital Age”)
  • Using “a” before “and” when citing multiple sources (“[Blog article] As Jane Jacobs said…”)
  • Using the short form “URL” instead of “http://” or “www.” before a website address (“[Blog article] The Evolution of Blogging in the Digital Age”)
  • Placing a period after the “in” in “informal writing” (“[Blog article] As Jane Jacobs said…”)
  • Using “a” before “and” when citing multiple sources (“[Blog article] As Jane Jacobs said…”)

To help ensure that you make the right decisions about citation, we have provided some alternatives for each of the above scenarios. As you will see, the choice is yours: You can follow the guidelines for the style that you prefer. But it is essential that you understand the rules governing each type of citation so that you do not end up with a citation that does not follow the established standards (Kohut, 2017).