In academic writing, students and researchers often use different kinds of sources to find evidence that backs up their arguments, claims, opinions, and observations. One of these sources is a newspaper article, which can be an excellent source for providing new information on a topic.
The main purpose of a newspaper article is to provide readers with current events and news, either locally, nationally or internationally. It is also an important source for providing background information on a topic.
Newspapers are a popular reading medium for many people, with nearly 105 million adults in the UK reading their daily paper on a given day and over 110 million people reading the Sunday edition.
They provide a range of information from news and politics to sports, business, art, culture, and entertainment. Some newspapers are more well-known than others, and some focus more on local issues or events.
When citing sources that are published in a newspaper, follow the basic MLA periodical format for citations. Include the author’s last name and first name, then the title of the article in italics, the date of publication (in day month year), page numbers, and any other additional information if necessary.
Depending on the type of article, you may also need to include an access date and the dateline. The dateline is the part of the citation that identifies the location from which the article was filed, and it helps you to understand how near or far the reporter was to the event they’re reporting.
Some newspapers have more than one edition for each day, and a few are divided into sections. Identify the edition after the newspaper title, and then note whether there are different pages for each edition. In addition, if there are more than one edition for each day, add the date of the later edition to the end of the dateline.
The format of the reference varies slightly among Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), and Chicago citation styles, but generally you follow the same citation style for all newspaper citations.
How to Cite a Newspaper in MLA, APA, and Chicago Textbooks
If you’re using a newspaper article to support your argument, it’s important to correctly cite the source so that readers can locate the material you’re using. The most common way to do this is to cite the source using the MLA citation style, which uses nine core elements within a container system that allows you to easily create references to the source.
1. List the Authors
Typically, newspaper articles don’t have authors listed on the front page. They do have bylines, which provide the names of the reporters and their affiliations. In some cases, these bylines can be found beneath the headline or at the bottom of the article itself. In these instances, you must provide the title of the article in italics and any subtitle if it appears, and then the author’s name in quotation marks.
