Citing Wikipedia

Citing Wikipedia

Abstract

Higher learning institutions like colleges and universities require students to use credible sources when writing their essays. Suitable sources contain peer-reviewed details, which have high accuracy and reliability levels. However, Wikipedia represents a form of non-credible academic sources. For instance, Wikipedia users can edit the content at any moment. Wikipedia cannot monitor thousands of edits made on the content. This limitation implies that the content contained the Wikipedia articles may contain unnecessary errors and wrong statements. Prudent students should remember that that then items considered changes consistently. Wikipedia may leave such errors uncorrected for years, which lowers the credibility of the content. However, there are situations where scholars must use Wikipedia for citations. In such instances, one must follow the necessary guidelines to avoid possible plagiarism cases. This guide contains the specific steps that a writer must follow when citing Wikipedia articles in MLA, APA, Harvard, and Chicago styles. The four referencing styles rely on different formatting rules for in-text and bibliographic entries.

Introduction

Learning institutions require learners to prepare essays and academic papers using credible and reliable evidence. Most institutions have rules that limit the type of sources that the student must use when writing their essays. In this case, such regulations and guidelines consider Wikipedia as a non-credible source for educational use. Such prohibitions exist because Wikipedia users can edit the content at any moment. Practically, Wikipedia cannot monitor thousands of edits made on the content. This limitation may lead to errors because the content may contain vandalism and wrong statements. Wikipedia may leave such errors uncorrected for years, which lowers the credibility of the material.

Students may use Wikipedia when preparing their essays and academic papers under exceptional circumstances. For instance, students should use Wikipedia to obtain general facts of a problem. The strategy allows the students to acquire general ideas about the topic they intend to write. Wikipedia is a suitable website that learners can gather references and bibliographic pointers. Learners can use Wikipedia to identify credible sources that support a specific topic. However, they must take caution not to consider Wikipedia as an authoritative source for their scholarly papers. Hence, Wikipedia is a suitable website for gaining general knowledge about a topic, identifying relevant sources and bibliographic pointers.

In some instances, learners may decide to cite the information contained in Wikipedia articles. In such cases, the student should remember that then items considered changes always. The scholar should cite the exact time, date, and the article’s version. Including such details makes the essays credible and prevents possible plagiarism cases. Prudent students must follow the proper guidelines depending on the referencing style used to format the essay.

Citing Wikipedia in MLA 8th Edition

MLA 8^th Edition requires learners to provide credible citations to avoid possible plagiarism cases. The scholar should use the last update’s date for the article. In this case, the Wikipedia articles’ dynamic nature makes it hard to use the publication date since the original article may contain vague information.

1. In-Text Citation – MLA 8^th edition requires one to use parenthetical or narrative in-text citations. Since Wikipedia articles do not contain a specific author, the student should use the title of the material. The full title should appear inside double quotation marks and rounded brackets for the parenthetical citation. The scholar should use title case, where all the significant words must begin with upper case letters. As a rule, one should include the paragraph containing the cited information using the phrase “par.” The following is a scheme and actual in-text citations for a Wikipedia article.

• (“Wikipedia Article’s Title” par. A)
• (“Sustainable Business” par. 4)
• The details presented in the article “Sustainable Business” show that business sustainability enhances customer’s value (par. 4).

1. Full Bibliography Entry on a Reference Page – each source used in an in-text citation must appear in the works cited pages. Credible bibliographic entries must contain reliable details. As a rule, one must include the article’s title, website’s name, the organization, publication date, and URL link. The website’s name should appear in italics. The writer should place the title of the article inside double quotation marks. The organization’s and article’s names should follow the title case format. A period must follow the article’s title and should precede the closing quotation marks. However, a comma should separate other details in the bibliographic entry. The following represents the format that one should use to develop a bibliographic entry for the MLA 8^th

• “Wikipedia Article’s Title.” Website’s Name, The Organization, Day Month. Year, URL Link.
• “Sustainable Business.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_business.

The student should include an accurate date when developing the bibliographic entry for the Wikipedia article. In practice, one should note the day, month, and year. Such details make the bibliographic entry credible.

1. Footnote – MLA 8^th edition requires scholars to use references when providing details to reinforce the meaning of the details presented in the essay. As a rule, one should use the footnote if the information may distract the flow of ideas when placed in the essay’s body. The writer should use numerical footnote callouts after the punctuation marks in the text. Besides, the actual footnote should appear at the bottom of the page containing the callout. The footnote callout should precede hyphens and dashes used in the essay. The following is an example of the footnote in MLA.

• ¹ The sixth paragraph in the article “Sustainable Business,” provides a detailed explanation of green business and its components.

Citing Wikipedia in APA

APA 7^th Edition requires academic writers to provide accurate and appropriate citations to avoid plagiarism. As a rule, a writer should identify the latest Edition for the article. The following are the relevant guidelines that one should use to cite Wikipedia articles in APA 7^th edition.

1. In-Text Citation – APA 7^th edition requires the learners to use both parenthetical and narrative in-text citation. Since Wikipedia articles lack a specific author, the writer should use the title for the in-text citation. As a rule, the information must appear in italicized and title case. The writer should use the phrase “para” to note the paragraph containing the cited information. A period must follow the sentence. The following are the formats that the writer should use when creating APA in-text citations.

• (Wikipedia Article’s Title A)
• (Sustainable Business 4)
• The details presented in the article Sustainable Business shows that business sustainability enhances customer’s value (para. 4).

1. Full Bibliography Entry on a Reference Page – The bibliographical entry in APA should contain adequate details to meet the required credibility. As a rule, a suitable entry should include the Wikipedia article’s title, update date, website’s name, the organization, and URL link. The article’s title should appear as italicized and in sentence case. The publication date should appear inside rounded brackets. One should include a period after the title, update date, and the organization. The comma separates the year and month while a semicolon appears between the website’s name and organization. The following is the scheme and actual example of a bibliographic entry in APA 7^th

• Wikipedia article’s title. (Years, Month Day). Website’s Name; The Organization. URL link
• Sustainable business. (2020, August 2). Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_business

The student should pay close attention to some unique features observed in the APA bibliographic entry. The month should be in full as opposed to the shortened form used in MLA 8^th edition. One should separate the month and day with space. Besides, a period should not appear after the URL link. The Wikipedia article’s title should appear in the sentence case in the bibliographic entry.

1. Footnote – APA 7^th edition require students to use notes when including details to reinforce the details in the text. As a rule, the details contained in the footnote should provide more significant insights, meanings, and understandings of the essay. The writer should use footnote callouts to include notes. The numerical callouts must appear as superscripts after the punctuation marks at the end of a sentence. The writer may consist of the callouts in brackets when the footnote relates to the enclosed details. The following is an example of the note that one should use in APA 7^th

• ¹ The sixth paragraph in the article titled Sustainable Business provides a concise definition of green businesses and their role in the twenty-first century.

The student must consider using the footnote where necessary. In practice, the APA formatting style does not encourage writers to use notes regularly. One should only use this method when providing supporting details that would otherwise distract readers if included in the text. Each learner has the responsibility to determine where to use footnotes effectively.

Citing Wikipedia in Harvard

Harvard referencing style requires academic writers to provide accurate and appropriate citations for Wikipedia articles. As a rule, a writer should use the latest Edition and include adequate details for the in-text citation. The following are the relevant guidelines that one should use to cite Wikipedia articles in Harvard referencing style.

1. In-Text Citation – Harvard referencing style requires writers to use both parenthetical and narrative in-text citation. One should identify the organization involved in the publication of the journal article. The organization’s name should appear in the title case format. The writer should use the phrase “para” to note the paragraph containing the cited information. In practice, a period must follow this phrase. One should not use a punctuation mark to separate the organization’s name and year. The following are the formats that the writer should use when creating Harvard in-text citations.

• (Organization Year, para. A)
• (Wikimedia Foundation 2020, para. 6)
• According to the Wikimedia Foundation, business sustainability enhances customer’s value and improves the competitive advantage.

1. Full Bibliography Entry on a Reference Page – the bibliographic entry of a Wikipedia article should identify the organization, title, latest update’s year, and URL. The organization’s name should be the first item in the entry. One should separate the name and latest update’s year with space. The article’s title should appear in the italicized form. Besides, the details should appear in sentence case. The first word in the title should begin with a capital letter. The writer must use the phrase “Available from” before the actual URL. The date that a writer accessed the article should appear inside square brackets as the last item in the entry.

The bibliographic entry should have the necessary punctuation marks. For example, the writer should separate the latest update’s year and article’s title with a comma. A period should follow the title. However, a semicolon should separate the phrase “Available from” and the actual URL link. Spaces should separate the day, month, and year of access. The following is the scheme and tangible example of the bibliographic entry in Harvard.

• Organization’s Name Year, Article’s Title. Available from: <URL Link>. [Day Month Year].
• Wikipedia Foundation 2020, Sustainable business. Available from: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_business>. [16 August 2020].

1. Footnote – Harvard referencing style allows the writers to use the notes when providing further explanations to clauses used inside the text. As a rule, one should use footnote callouts when representing additional details at the bottom of the page. The numerical footnote callouts must appear as superscripts in the text and at the bottom of the page. Prudent writers use the footnote function the Microsoft word to insert the necessary footnotes. The following is the example of note in the Harvard referencing style.

• ¹ The sixth paragraph in the article titled Sustainable Business provides a concise definition of green businesses and their role in the twenty-first century.

Citing Wikipedia in Chicago

1. In-Text Citation – Chicago referencing style requires the student to use either parenthetical or full note in-text citations. The parenthetical citations contain the article’s title and the latest update date. One must enclose the title in double quotation marks and rounded brackets. In practice, the full note in-text citation must appear as a footnote. Hence, the student must use appropriate numerical footnote callouts.

The full note in-text citation should include adequate details. As a rule, the quote should contain the title, the website’s name, the organization, the latest update’s date, and URL. The title should appear in title case and inside rounded punctuation marks. For instance, the writer should include a period after the article’s title, year, and URL. A comma should separate the organization and update’s date. The following is are the examples of the two in-text citation types.

• (“Sustainable Business” 2020)
• “Sustainable Business.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, August 2, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_business.

1. Full Bibliography Entry on a Reference Page – The bibliographic entry in Chicago should contain adequate details to identify the source. As a rule, the bibliographic entry should include the title, the website’s name, the organization, the latest update date, and the URL. The title should appear in title case and inside rounded punctuation marks. The writer should include a period after the article’s title, year, and URL. Besides, a comma should separate the organization and update’s date. The following is the scheme and actual example of the bibliographic entry that one should use when formatting an essay in Chicago style.

• “Wikipedia Article’s Title.” Website’s Name. The Organization, Month Day, Year. The URL Link.
• “Sustainable Business.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, August 2, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_business.

Conclusion

Higher learning institutions require students to use credible sources when writing their essays. However, Wikipedia represents a form of non-credible academic sources. For instance, Wikipedia users can edit the content at any moment. Wikipedia cannot monitor thousands of edits made on the content. This limitation may lead to errors because the content may contain vandalism and wrong statements. Wikipedia may leave such errors uncorrected for years, which lowers the credibility of the material. However, there are situations where scholars must use Wikipedia for citations. In such instances, one must follow the necessary guidelines to avoid possible plagiarism cases. The following are the guidelines that one should use to cite Wikipedia articles in MLA, APA, and Harvard and Chicago styles:

• MLA 8^th Edition, APA, and Harvard styles require one to use parenthetical or narrative in-text citations.
• In-text citations in MLA 8^th and APA edition should contain the Wikipedia article’s title, capital case, and the paragraph containing the cited information.
• In-text citations in MLA uses the phrase “par” while in APA utilizes “para” to denote the actual paragraph containing cited details.
• In-text citations at Harvard should contain the organization and the latest update date.
• In-text citations in Chicago referencing style must appear in parenthetical or full—note forms. The complete note should follow the guidelines used in preparing footnotes.
• The bibliographic entries for MLA 8^th edition and Chicago style must follow the title case formats. However, the entries in APA and Harvard styles should follow the sentence case style.
• All bibliographic entries must contain a URL link to enhance their credibility.
• Prudent writers use the collect punctuations marks when writing the bibliographic entries in each of the four formats.
• The writer should avoid using the Wikipedia article’s publication date due to the content’s dynamic nature.