MLA and APA

Citing sources in a discussion post.

A post on Canvas, Blackboard, D2L or Moodle is short, but it cites like a paper: an in-text citation after each source you quote or paraphrase, and a list of those sources at the end.

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On this page
  1. What carries over from a paper
  2. What to leave out
  3. An MLA post, made by Format
  4. The same post in APA
  5. Writing it in Format
  6. Common mistakes
  7. Questions

Updated

What carries over from a paper

  • In-text citations in your class’s style, after each quotation or paraphrase: (Hershner and Chervin) in MLA, (Hershner & Chervin, 2014) in APA. With a quotation, add the page, as in a paper.
  • A list at the end of the post under the style’s heading: Works Cited for MLA, References for APA. One entry for each source you cited, in alphabetical order by author.
  • Titles styled as in a paper: books and journals in italics, and each style’s capitalization.

What to leave out

  • The heading block, title page and running head. The discussion board already shows your name and the date.
  • Double spacing. A post is read on screen, and the board sets the spacing.
  • The hanging indent. Discussion editors have no setting for one, and pasting usually loses it. Give each entry its own paragraph instead, unless your instructor asks for something else.

An MLA post, made by Format

A short post that paraphrases two sources. The citations and the list were made by the same code the app runs, laid out the way Copy post pastes them:

MLA 9 post

Our reading treats sleep as part of studying, and the research backs that up. A review of studies of college students connects short and irregular sleep to lower grades and weaker mood (Hershner and Chervin). Sleep also matters for memory: the brain uses it to hold on to what was learned that day (Walker).

If sleep is part of learning, should exam weeks be scheduled differently?

Works Cited

Hershner, Shelley D., and Ronald D. Chervin. “Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness among College Students.” Nature and Science of Sleep, vol. 6, 2014, pp. 73-84, https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907.

Walker, Matthew. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Scribner, 2017.

No page numbers here because both sentences paraphrase a whole argument. When you quote, or paraphrase one passage, add its page after the names: (Walker 112).

The same post in APA

APA 7 post

Our reading treats sleep as part of studying, and the research backs that up. A review of studies of college students connects short and irregular sleep to lower grades and weaker mood (Hershner & Chervin, 2014). Sleep also matters for memory: the brain uses it to hold on to what was learned that day (Walker, 2017).

If sleep is part of learning, should exam weeks be scheduled differently?

References

Hershner, S. D., & Chervin, R. D. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students. Nature and Science of Sleep, 6, 73–84. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907

Walker, M. (2017). Why we sleep: Unlocking the power of sleep and dreams. Scribner.

APA titles of articles and books take sentence case, so only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns are capitalized. A quotation adds the page: (Walker, 2017, p. 112).

Writing it in Format

  1. Choose Discussion post in Start a paper, or turn it on in the paper style menu. The page drops the heading block and sets a 250-word goal you can change.
  2. Type @ or press Cite to add a source. Format writes the citation in your style and builds the list at the end.
  3. Open Export and press Copy post, then paste into the discussion box. Paragraphs, italics and the list come along. Your title line stays behind, since the board has its own subject line.

The word count and word goal leave out citations and the list made from your Sources, so 250 words means 250 of your own.

Common mistakes

  1. A link instead of a citation. A bare link does not say who wrote the source or when. Cite it, and put the URL or DOI in the entry, where MLA and APA both include it for online sources.
  2. No list because the post is short. One source still gets an entry.
  3. Citing the course page instead of the reading. Cite the article, chapter or book itself, the way it appears outside the course site.

Questions

Do discussion posts need citations?

When you quote or paraphrase a source, yes. A post is graded writing, and using a source without credit is plagiarism there too.

Do I need a Works Cited or References list in a post?

Usually, yes: one entry for each source you cited, at the end of the post. If the prompt asks for something else, follow it.

Does the list count toward the word limit?

That is up to your instructor; check the prompt or ask. Format’s word count leaves it out.

How do I cite a classmate’s post?

Name the classmate in your sentence when you answer their point. Whether it also needs a formal citation depends on the style and your instructor, so ask.