Editing Encyclopedia:Citing sources (section)

==Citation types==
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* An '''inline citation''' means any citation added close to the material it supports, for example after the sentence or paragraph, normally in the form of a footnote.
* '''In-text attribution''' involves adding the source of a statement to the article text, such as {{xt|Rawls argues that X.<sup>[5]</sup>}} This is done whenever a writer or speaker should be credited, such as with quotations, [[WP:close paraphrasing|close paraphrasing]], or statements of opinion or uncertain fact. The in-text attribution does not give full details of the source – this is done in a footnote in the normal way. See [[#In-text attribution|In-text attribution]] below.
* A '''general reference''' is a citation that supports content, but is not linked to any particular piece of material in the article through an inline citation. General references are usually listed at the end of the article in a References section. They are usually found in underdeveloped articles, especially when all article content is supported by a single source. They may also be listed in more developed articles as a supplement to inline citations.

===Short and full citations <span id="Shortened and full footnotes"></span><span id="Short citations"></span>===
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{{main|Help:Shortened footnotes}}

* A '''full citation''' fully identifies a [[WP:SOURCES|reliable source]] and, where applicable, the place in that source (such as a page number) where the information in question can be found. For example: {{xt|Rawls, John. ''A Theory of Justice''. Harvard University Press, 1971, p. 1.}} This type of citation is usually given as a [[Help:Footnotes|footnote]], and is the most commonly used citation method in Wikipedia articles.
* A '''short citation''' is an inline citation that identifies the place in a source where specific information can be found, but without giving full details of the source. Some Wikipedia articles use it, giving summary information about the source together with a page number. For example, {{tag|ref|content=Rawls 1971, p. 1.}}, which renders as {{xt|Rawls 1971, p. 1.}}. These are used together with ''full citations'', which are listed in a separate "References" section or provided in an earlier footnote. 

Forms of short citations used include author-date referencing ([[APA style]], [[Harvard style]], or [[The Chicago Manual of Style|Chicago style]]), and author-title or author-page referencing ([[The MLA Style Manual|MLA style]] or Chicago style). As before, the list of footnotes is automatically generated in a "Notes" or "Footnotes" section, which immediately precedes the "References" section containing the full citations to the source. Short citations can be written manually, or by using either the [[Template:Harvard citation documentation#Shortened footnote|<code><nowiki>{{sfn}}</nowiki></code> or <code><nowiki>{{harvnb}}</nowiki></code>]] templates or the [[Template:R#R-style shortened references|<code><nowiki>{{r}}</nowiki></code>]] referencing template. (Note that templates should not be added without consensus to an article that already uses a consistent referencing style.) The short citations and full citations may be linked so that the reader can click on the short note to find full information about the source. See the [[Template:harvard citation documentation|template documentation]] for details and solutions to common problems. For variations with and without templates, see [[/Further considerations#Wikilinks to full references|wikilinks to full references]]. For a set of realistic examples, see [[Wikipedia:Citing sources/Example edits for different methods#Shortened notes|these]].

This is how short citations look in the edit box:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" line highlight="4,7-8">
The Sun is pretty big,<ref>Miller 2005, p. 23.</ref> but the Moon is not so big.<ref>Brown 2006, p. 46.</ref> The Sun is also quite hot.<ref>Miller 2005, p. 34.</ref>