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Architecture & Urban Design

This Library Research Guide is intended as a starting place for UCLA researchers, pointing to resources and strategies for finding information about architecture and urban design topics.

Citation Tools and Guides

Need help citing your sources? Try these tools and citations guides:

Audiovisual and Primary Sources Citation Help

Citation Generators

Use a citation machine to quickly cite a source you are using.

Citation Styles

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is widely used in the humanities, especially in writing on language and literature. It provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and Works Cited pages. If you are asked to use MLA format, you can access the online companion (style.mla.org) or consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (8th edition), which can be found in the UCLA Library catalog:

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) covers a variety of topics from manuscript preparation and publication to grammar, usage, and documentation.

There are two main styles:

  • The Notes-Bibliography System (NB), which is used by those in literature, history, and the arts.
    • The Chicago NB system is most often used in history and is often used in the humanities and provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through footnote or endnote citation in their writing and through bibliography pages.
    • As with any citation stystem using it correctly protects the writer from accusations of plagiarism. As mentioned earlier in this guide proper citation builds credibility to the paper by demonstrating accountability to source material.
    • Sample Paper in Notes-Bibliography (from Purdue OWL)
  • The Author-Date System, which is preferred in the sciences.
    • In the Author-Date System each citation consists of two parts: the text citations, which provides brief identifying information within the text, and the reference list (list of sources used) which provides full bibliographic information.
    • Descriptions for Style Guides (APA). Russell, T., Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, August 1, 2010). General format. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/
    • Sample Paper in Author-Date (from Purdue OWL)
  • If you are asked to use the CMS, be sure to consult the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, which can be found online or in print via the UCLA Library catalog. The online resource provides a quick guide for both the notes-bibliography system and the author-date system.

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page

Citing Museum or Gallery Exhibition Wall text? See:

MLA Style Center: "How do I cite wall text accompanying artwork in a museum?"

Citation Handouts

The Writing Center at UCLA provides handouts on how to cite in APA, MLA, Chicago Manual of Style, and other citation formats. Guidelines for other citation formats can be found online. If you need help, please do not hesitate to ask. 

Captions vs Citations

Consult your Style guide for information about caption formats.

Also see: the Reed College Image Workstation Help, which provides the following guidance (and more:)

MLA Handbook - Captions

  • Images should be labeled Figure (usually abbreviated Fig.), assigned an Arabic numeral, and given a caption.
  • The caption should appear directly below the image.
  • Image captions should always include image creator's first name, last name (if available), title, work date, and the source of the image.
  • For a more descriptive caption, it is acceptable to include a description of materials, measurements, the institution or individual who owns the work, and the location of the institution.
  • Note whether the image came from a print, electronic, or other source and cite appropriately.

Print Source Caption Example
Fig. 4. Frank Duveneck, Portrait of Maggie Wilson, Oil on board, 38.10 x 30.48 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Unsuspected Genius: the Art and Life of Frank Duveneck, by Robert Neuhaus  (San Francisco: Bedford Press, 1987) 227.

Electronic Source Caption Example
Fig. 9. Amasis Painter, Lekythos; Women Weaving, 17.15 cm height, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Accessed Jan. 12, 2007 from the Reed College CONTENTdm database <http://cdm.reed.edu/u?/vrcwork,38536>.

Other Source Caption Example
Fig. 13. Columbia River at Dawn. Personal photograph by author. 13 March 2008.

  • Last Updated: Apr 20, 2021 7:30 PM
  • URL: https://guides.library.ucla.edu/architecture
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Tags: Arts Library