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There are many scenarios such as when adding affiliate links to your website or blog, where you may need to cite one or more blog posts in your article. Blog post citations are very important in avoiding plagiarism. These citations also serve as a vital SEO metric. Proper citations would help build your blog pages. Keep reading to learn all you need to know about citing a blog post.
It is very easy to cite any blog post in APA style, as long as you understand the rules of blog post citations. There are three major ways to cite a blog post in APA style. These include:
Below is a detailed guide on properly citing an APA-style blog post.
When creating a citation for your list entry in APA style, you will need to use the following format:
Author(s), Title of Article, Journal title abbreviation or volume number (if available), Year Published. It is also important to note that the date range should be two months before and after publication. For example, “January 1, 2016- December 31, 2016” would be appropriate.
In-text citations are essential when you cite your work in APA style. The purpose of the in-text citation is to show where the information came from. You can do this by using the author’s last name and the year of publication (i.e., Green, 2021). If you are quoting from a source that does not have an author listed, use the first word or two of the title instead. For example, the covid-19 pandemic had led to an increase in unemployment rates in most countries of the world.
In-text and list entry citation formats refer to only a part of a publication. To refer to the whole blog, however, you must cite the URL and the name of the blog in a sentence. For instance, you can cite the entire blog in a sentence like this;
the Healthy Living blog (https://healthyliving.com) is an impressive site to visit if you want to live healthily.
The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation style is one of the most commonly used formats worldwide. Below is all you need to know before you cite a blog post, including in-text and list entry citations.
In-text citations are necessary when you want to summarize or quote a sentence or statement from another source. To correctly write an in-text citation in MLA form, you must include the author’s last name and the page number(s) from where you took the information. The paragraph below is an example of a paragraph with the proper MLA citation.
For example, (Smith 123), (Jones 234-36), and (Williams 38-40) are perfect examples of how to write in-text citations in MLA format.
A list entry citation method is essential when citing multiple blog posts. The following instructions highlight the details of a proper list entry citation in MLA format. Ensure that the citation contains the website URL, title, publication, and/or access data. Below is an excellent example of a list entry citation using the MLA format.
“How to Choose the Best Personal Finance Software for You.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 6 Mar. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/farhana Abedin/2018/03/06 /how-to-choose-the-best-personal-finance -software -for-you/. Accessed 10 Apr. 2018.
“18 Writing Tips That’ll Make You a Better Writer (2022).” Time, Time Inc., 18 Feb. 2022, time.com/collection -of -writing -tips -that’ll-actually-make -you -a-better writer/?iid=sr%3Anlp%2Fsocialflow%3Atwitter. Accessed 10 Apr. 2018.
” Hootsuite, 13 Mar. 2017, blog.hootsuite.com/video-marketing-guide/?utm_campaign=buffer&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter. Accessed 10 Apr. 2018
Although you won’t need to cite any source when you make an original post on Facebook, there are many cases where you must cite sources. For instance, you must cite a reference when you’re quoting others, mentioning statistics, reposting images or contents, or any other post that belongs to someone else.
To repost on Facebook, tap on the share button and select a sharing option. Facebook will automatically cite the post on your page. If you want to cite a Facebook source, however, simply mention the original author’s name and ensure that you rewrite the original content in your own words.
Twitter is a social media site where users can post short, 140-character messages called tweets. Users can attach images and videos to their tweets, and Twitter has a “moment” feature that lets you track the most popular or essential tweets from the past week or month.
If you want to repost a tweet on Twitter, there are 2 options:
Instagram is a social media site where users can post pictures and videos. People use it to share moments with friends and family, as well as to follow celebrities and organizations. Instagram allows for direct reposting of posts but always recommends contacting the author for permission first.
Simply find the post you want to share, tap 3 dots top right corner, then copy the link to the post. When posted, your followers will see the post in their feed, and they can also click through to the source.
Pinners browse the site for inspiration and “save” pins to their creative boards.
To save a pin to your board, all you have to do is hover over the photo, make sure you highlight the correct board, and click on the red “Save” button in the top right corner.
If you want to share the pin elsewhere, for instance, on Facebook, you will need to click on the share icon at the bottom of the post (it has an arrow pointed upwards with a bracket).
If posting on Facebook, Pinterest automatically populates your Facebook post and includes a link to the original source, so you don’t have to give any further credit.
Proper source attribution on LinkedIn is simple- just include the link to the content you’re citing in the update and mention the person or company name.
To share content on LinkedIn, click “share” and include the person or company you want to give credit to by starting with the “@” symbol.
No matter the length or nature of your post, it is essential to ensure that you credit your sources. Citations are unnecessary if the content is originally yours. However, if you have posted content on any other platform and need to cite yourself and refer to the location of the original post, or you want to give credits to another source you need to know how to use proper citations. This article covered the different ways to cite blog posts on your website and other social media platforms.
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