×
HEY, LUCKY CUSTOMER, GET YOUR
5% PROMO CODE! CLICK TO USE:
PAPER5

How to Cite Wikipedia in APA and MLA

October 19, 2018

Cite Wikipedia in APA and MLA by PaperHelpWriting

Wikipedia is one of the most commonly referenced sources in the modern scientific community. Every day thousands of students are looking for a way to use Wikipedia in their academic writing and cite it the right way, but it’s not always easy.

Many students who struggle with citing sources properly in their written assignments wonder: why is it even important to cite sources at all? The truth is that correctly citing sources that you used in your work instantly gives your paper a more scholarly feel and makes it acceptable for other scholars, whether it’s your professor or other members of the scientific community. Each time you reference other person’s work in your paper, it needs to be properly cited. Citing scientific works is important for a number of reasons:

  • Citations in your work add a lot of accuracy to your paper. Readers who see that you’ve used plenty of sources and correctly cited all of them are more likely to positively assess your work without looking at the original sources.
  • Citing other people’s scientific works improves your own research skills. You train your ability to look for the necessary information, finding it, including it into your work, and then citing it for other people to do their own research if they want to.
  • As an academic writer, you can’t just present a fact saying “As we all know” – instead you need a credible source to back up your opinion on the matter, and there is nothing better to use for this purpose than citations.
  • Citing academic sources adds credibility to your own work. Even if the reader comes across something in your paper they don’t completely agree with or believe, they can look at the source to make sure you’re telling the truth.

How to cite Wikipedia in APA

Do you have an American Psychological Association style paper where you need to properly reference Wikipedia? There is a step by step guide for doing it!

  1. Write the title of the article without any quotes and italics.
  2. Write the date when the article was published, if it’s available. If not, put “n.d.” in parenthesis right after the title. Put a full stop after the date.
  3. Write “In Wikipedia”, where the word “Wikipedia” is italicized. Put a full stop after this part.
  4. Write the retrieval date, or the date when you accessed the article for the last time. Use the “month, date, year” format after the word “Retrieved”. For example, if you’ve last retrieved the article on November 2, 2017, this section should read as “Retrieved November 2, 2017”. Put a comma after the date.
  5. Insert the URL of the page you’re citing after the comma. Use the full URL, starting with “https”. Don’t put a full stop after the URL.

How to cite Wikipedia in MLA

The Modern Language Association style has its own guidelines for citing Wikipedia as a source. Here they are:

  1. Write the article title, followed by a period. Then put the whole construction in quotation marks. Normally MLA citations start with the name of the author, but since Wikipedia articles don’t have authors, you will start with the article title.
  2. Next you need to indicate a larger source where you found the article. In this case, you need to state that you found the article on Wikipedia. Write “Wikipedia” without quotation marks and put this word in italics. Then put a full stop.
  3. According to MLA guidelines, you are expected to specify the publisher of the source, but since we are using Wikipedia, you’ll simply need to put Wikipedia.org after a period and followed by a coma.
  4. Write the date when the article was published. If you can’t find the date in the Wikipedia article, simply write “n.p.” after the comma. You can try finding the date in the History tab of the article you’re working with. If you find a date, write it in the “day, month, year format”, for example, 5 Jul 2014, followed by a comma.
  5. Copy and paste the URL of the article. The full URL is not needed in the MLA style – you can leave the “https” out of the URL. Put a period after the URL.
  6. Specify the date when you found the source. For example, if you discovered the Wikipedia article on the 2nd of November, 2017, this part will look like this: “Accessed 2 November 2017”, followed by a period.

How to cite a Wikipedia article

You can cite Wikipedia articles directly from the website. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Find the drop-down menu button on the left side of the page and click on Toolbox.
  2. Choose the “Cite this page” option.
  3. Copy the formatted text and paste it into your work.

How to cite Wikipedia in-text

In-text citations are used when the author needs to reference a certain statement he had previously gotten from an external source – in this case, a Wikipedia article. In-text citing Wikipedia articles is actually rather easy – you just need to put the name of the article in quotation marks, followed by the date when the article was published or “n.d.” in case you don’t know the publishing date. Then you need to put the whole construction into parenthesis.

Order your amazing paper

Starting from $10/page

Get in 3 hours only.

More details here.

30 thoughts on “How to Cite Wikipedia in APA and MLA”

    1. Yes, we can arrange that review and help easily. Submit your order and all details you have for this task.

    1. If you have the exact task now, only pass it to us. Our professionals will arrange all formatting and citation requirements according to the style you need to follow and provide you a ready properly-made paper.

    1. They are principally different in most aspects. If you want us to make a comparison with examples or arrange the formatting of your paper according to one of these styles, submit your order form. We will provide you with that research or paper formatting work instantly.

  1. I have already spent a few hours trying to make that. Lots of examples I have found vary. Can you do that for me?

    1. Yes, we surely can. We have detected your problem and can help with solving that. You will get citations according to demands applicable to your task, as that should be.

    1. Jason 1111, this problem worries many students. We have professionals who can arrange formatting and citations according to the applicable standards. Submit the details of your inquiry to us.

    1. Yes. We have professionals who work with different formatting styles, including APA and MLA. Fill in and submit your order form with all particulars.

    1. If you want to do that on your own, shortlist all demands we have provided you above. In case of any difficulties, submit your order form and we will make all formatting arrangements on your own.

    1. Don’t worry. That is normal. Following all formatting requirements is difficult sometimes. Pass your task to us. We will arrange all things properly.

    1. We can start working on your task now. Only submit your request and we will arrange all points as those should be.

    1. We can provide you with that. Our company hires professionals who work with these tasks for many years. Provide the details of your concrete assignment. The order form is on the main page. It is simple to complete but if you find some difficulties, our agents can help.

    1. Yes, sure. We have many experts who work with this style. We need to see your assignment. Place your order only.

    1. Contact us with more details about a paper you have. We have professionals who are experienced at working with APA requirements.

    1. I work with this company more or less often. I don’t have serious complaints about their work. Formatting is always proper.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Useful Guidelines To Master Essay Structure Professionally

What can be more popular among the students than writing an essay? The task is so demanding in a college or university that students need to write it almost daily. There are lots of different essay types. Some of them are more specific and need thorough preparation. Some of the tasks are less demanding and … Continue reading “Useful Guidelines To Master Essay Structure Professionally”

Get the Highest Scores at College Entrance Exams

Every high school senior knows what standardized testing is. And constantly hears how important it is! Just imagine: on average, a student takes over 110 tests throughout school, and this number doesn’t include entrance exams and advanced placement tests. Today we will talk about college exams which are definitely the most difficult and important among … Continue reading “Get the Highest Scores at College Entrance Exams”

Essay About Obesity Problem: Ideas For Writing

Doctors utilize such tools of measurement as BMI or body mass index and obesity to assess the body fat, accordingly to gender, age, and height of a person. For instance, the person has excess body fat and weight if BMI is starting from 25 to 29.9. The person is diagnosed obese if the BMI is … Continue reading “Essay About Obesity Problem: Ideas For Writing”

Essay Help Sites
ACADEMIC HELP EVERYONE CAN AFFORD
Order Now

Call us Toll free