How to Cite This Material

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How to Cite This Material

By Wayne Martin Mellinger, Ph.D.

Ideas grow through conversation. If an essay on this site contributes to your writing, teaching, research, or public discussion, please acknowledge that contribution and help your readers find the original. You can cite an online essay even when it has not appeared in a journal or book.

The essential information

A useful citation identifies the author, the essay’s title, the name of the blog or website, the publication date, and the direct link to the essay. Please use Wayne Martin Mellinger as my author name. Academic degrees such as “Ph.D.” generally do not belong in a citation.

For an informal bibliography, newsletter, or reading list, use this straightforward template:

Mellinger, Wayne Martin. “Title of Essay.” Name of Blog or Website, publication date. Direct URL.

Replace each placeholder with the information from the essay you are citing. Link to the individual article rather than the blog’s homepage, where newer posts may push the article out of view.

For academic writing

Follow the citation style required by your instructor, journal, or publisher. In MLA style, an entry for an online essay generally takes this form:

Mellinger, Wayne Martin. “Title of Essay.” Name of Blog or Website, day month year, URL.

The MLA Style Center offers further guidance on citing online works.

When quoting or paraphrasing

Put my exact words in quotation marks, or format a longer quotation according to your citation style. When expressing an argument in your own words, acknowledge its source as well. Paraphrasing changes the wording; it does not remove the need for attribution.

In informal writing, a sentence such as “Wayne Martin Mellinger argues in his essay ‘[Essay Title]’ that…” with a link to the essay will often give readers the information they need.

Dates, revisions, and other sources

Use the date shown on the article. If no date appears, follow your citation style’s rules for an undated source; do not substitute the current year. If the essay identifies a revised version, make clear which version you consulted.

If you encounter another scholar’s work through one of my essays, consult and cite that original work whenever possible. If you have read only my discussion, make that distinction clear.

Sharing and republication

Sharing a link directs readers to the original essay and preserves its context. Republishing an entire essay, translating it, or adapting it for another publication is a separate matter from citing it. Please contact me to discuss permission before doing so.

Thank you for helping these conversations travel with their sources intact.


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