The tradition of academic honesty demands that whenever a source other than one's own general knowledge is used, the source should be acknowledged, unless the instructor has specifically stated otherwise.
Unacknowledged sources invite suspicions of plagiarism, a serious offense.
Your instructor will tell you which to use. This document introduces both styles and offers some simplified versions of each, based on the MLA and APA manuals . The document you are now reading is neither authorized by nor created in association with either the Modern Language Association or the American Psychological Association. For authoritative information, consult the MLA and APA publications listed in the References .