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- https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_other_non_print_sources.html
The Purdue OWL is a highly authoritative source for APA and MLA citation guidelines. This page specifically covers how to cite non-print sources, which aligns with the blog post's discussion on citing the Constitution in APA format. - https://style.mla.org/citing-the-constitution/
The MLA Style Center is the official resource for MLA formatting. This page provides direct guidance on how to cite the U.S. Constitution in MLA format, which is directly relevant to the blog post's content. - https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
The National Archives provides the official transcript of the U.S. Constitution, including all amendments. This is a primary source for the Constitution's text, which is referenced in the blog post for citation purposes. - https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/legal-references
The APA Style website offers official guidelines for citing legal documents, including the U.S. Constitution. This source is relevant as it provides authoritative instructions for APA citations, as discussed in the blog post. - https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution
Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute provides a reliable and authoritative version of the U.S. Constitution, including annotations and amendments. This is useful for verifying the text and structure of the Constitution for citation purposes.
Key Points
- Citing the Constitution varies between APA and MLA formats, each with specific rules.
- APA citations require abbreviations like U.S. Const., Art., Amend., §, cl., and pmbl., with Roman numerals for articles and amendments, and Arabic numerals for sections and clauses.
- MLA citations require listing the webpage title, article/amendment in Roman numerals, and section, along with the URL and access date.
- Passing references to the Constitution do not require citations unless specific points are mentioned.
- APA format does not require listing the website URL, while MLA format does.
- For repealed or amended parts in APA, include the year of change in parentheses (e.g., amended 1919).
- Book versions of the Constitution should be cited with the title, editor, edition, publisher, and year.
- Proper citation standards are crucial to avoid penalties or plagiarism allegations.
- Examples of APA citations include U.S. Const. amend. I (First Amendment) and U.S. Const. art. I, §8, cl. 1 (taxation clause).
- Examples of MLA citations include 'US Constitution.' ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, URL, accessed date.
Summary
Citing the U.S. Constitution varies depending on whether you use APA or MLA format. APA citations require abbreviations like "U.S. Const." and Roman numerals for articles/amendments, while MLA citations include the source URL. Always check which format is required and ensure proper citations to avoid plagiarism.
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An Introduction to Citing the Constitution
ConstitutionUS.com provides a full-text copy of the United States Constitution. This site includes the Bill of Rights, all twenty-seven Amendments, and indexes to help you find specific details throughout the text.A Note About Passing References
You must cite the Constitution if you’re using it to support a point you wish to make when writing. However, you do not have to reference the Constitution if you make a passing reference to the document without mentioning any precise points in your work.How To Cite the Constitution Using APA
The first way to cite the Constitution is through the APA format. The American Psychological Association format is for scholarly journal reports and academic documents.Basic APA constitution citations
The following items will be included in your APA citation. You’ll need to use the proper abbreviations and standards for writing:- The U.S. Constitution name – U.S. Const. You do not need to add a comma after that part, although you will need to add one after each other section.
- Article – Art. When citing an article, it is always written in Roman numerals.
- Amendment – Amend. Citing an amendment is also written in Roman numerals.
- Section – §. Use Arabic numerals for citing a section of an article or amendment. You can write § by using Alt-21 in your word processing tool.
- Clause – cl. This part also uses Arabic numerals when citing a clause.
- Preamble – pmbl. This is for cases where you will cite the preamble of the Constitution.
“The Twentieth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that the President and Vice President’s terms will expire on January 20 at noon, while Congressional members’ terms end on January 3 at noon (U.S. Const. Amend. XX, §1).”The citation lists the specific amendment you are citing and the section in that amendment, showing that you understand the subject matter. The APA format does not require you to list the ConstitutionUS.com website or any other URL in your reference.
Citing articles and amendments that were repealed or amended
You will need to add the proper year when something in the Constitution was repealed or amended if you refer to something that was altered through such means.“The Senate was established with the Legislature intending to choose the two senators for each state for six-year terms (U.S. Const. Art. I, §3, cl. 1, amended 1919).”You are referencing the part of the Constitution that was utilized at the start while also mentioning that the rule was amended in 1919, as the Seventeenth Amendment gave people the right to elect their senators through popular elections.
How it appears in your reference list
The next part of the APA citation entails how the Constitution will appear in your reference list. You will use the same listing you utilized in your in-text citation in your reference list.“U.S. Const. Amend. XX, §1.”For repealed or amended content, you would need to add parentheses around the time the change took place. For the earlier example, you would list:
“U.S. Const. Art. I, §3, cl. 1 (amended 1919).”You can also use a similar format when citing the Bill of Rights.
Examples of Citing Constitution Using APA
- U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 1. – This citation refers to Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which grants Congress the power to lay and collect taxes.
- U.S. Const. amend. I. – This citation refers to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.
- U.S. Const. amend. II. – This citation refers to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms.
- U.S. Const. art. III, § 1. – This citation refers to Article III, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes the judicial power of the United States.
- U.S. Const. art. IV, § 1. – This citation refers to Article IV, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which requires states to give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states.
- U.S. Const. art. V. – This citation refers to Article V of the U.S. Constitution, which outlines the process for amending the Constitution.
- U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2. – This citation refers to Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes the supremacy of the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties over state laws.
- U.S. Const. amend. X. – This citation refers to the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or to the people.
- U.S. Const. amend. XIII. – This citation refers to the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.
- U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. – This citation refers to Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law to all citizens.
- U.S. Const. amend. XV. – This citation refers to the Fifteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
- U.S. Const. amend. XIX. – This citation refers to the Nineteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.
- U.S. Const. amend. XXIV. – This citation refers to the Twenty-Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which abolished the poll tax.
- U.S. Const. amend. XXVI. – This citation refers to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which lowered the voting age to 18.
- U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 8. – This citation refers to Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the granting of titles of nobility by the federal government.
How To Cite the Constitution Using MLA
The Modern Language Association or MLA is another format you might utilize to cite some documents.In-text citations
The in-text MLA citation will entail listing the name of the webpage where you viewed the Constitution. You will list these points:- The webpage title or name of another source you are using
- The article or amendment in Roman numerals; use the same Art. or Amend. abbreviations
- The section that you should write as Sec.
How it appears in your reference list
The most noticeable difference here is that you’ll need to provide details on where you found the Constitution in your MLA citation. You will use this standard: “Page Title.” Name of Website, Day, month, year of publication (without commas), URL. Accessed (day, month, and year of access without commas in between). You can use this example when referring to the earlier example of the Constitution from the last segment:“US Constitution.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/. Accessed 10 March 2021.
Examples of quoting the constitution using MLA
- “Article I.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#article-1. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific article on the website)
- “Article I, Section 2.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#article-1-section-2. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific section on the website)
- “Amendment I.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#amendment-1. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific amendment on the website)
- “Amendment V.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#amendment-5. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific amendment on the website)
- “Article III, Section 1.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#article-3-section-1. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific section on the website)
- “Article IV, Section 2.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#article-4-section-2. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific section on the website)
- “Amendment XIV, Section 1.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#amendment-14-section-1. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific section on the website)
- “Preamble.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#preamble. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific section on the website)
- “Article II, Section 2.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#article-2-section-2. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific section on the website)
- “Article VI, Clause 2.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#article-6-clause-2. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific clause on the website)
- “Article V.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#article-5. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific article on the website)
- “Amendment X.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#amendment-10. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific amendment on the website)
- “Article III, Section 2.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#article-3-section-2. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific section on the website)
- “Article VI, Clause 3.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#article-6-clause-3. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific clause on the website)
- “Amendment XIII.” ConstitutionUS.com, 2020, https://constitutionus.com/#amendment-13. Accessed 10 March 2021. (Citing a specific amendment on the website)
What about book versions of the Constitution?
You could always use a book version of the Constitution if you don’t have access to ConstitutionUS.com. For this case, you would use the following format in your works cited space: Book title. Edited by (First and last names), edition, publisher, year.A Final Word on Citing the Constitution
Be sure you use the right standards when referencing the United States Constitution in your work, whether APA or MLA. Failing to use the correct citation standard could result in penalties in your papers or even allegations of plagiarism.Fact | Description |
---|---|
Citation format | The standard citation format for the US Constitution includes the Article, Section, and Clause numbers. |
Short form citation | For subsequent references, the short form citation can be used with only the Article and Section numbers. |
Punctuation | Commas are used to separate the Article, Section, and Clause numbers in a citation. |
Pinpoint citation | Pinpoint citations are used to refer to a specific sentence or passage within the Constitution. |
Block quotes | Long quotations (more than four lines) should be indented as a block quote and not enclosed in quotation marks. |
Historical context | The historical context of the Constitution and its amendments may be relevant to interpretation and citation. |
Proper attribution | Proper attribution is important when quoting or referencing the Constitution in legal or academic contexts. |
Supreme Court interpretations and citations | The US Supreme Court’s interpretations and citations of the Constitution carry significant weight in legal cases. |
Amendments and related documents’ citations | Citations for the amendments to the Constitution, as well as related documents like the Bill of Rights, follow a similar format. |
Electronic sources citation | Electronic sources, such as online versions of the Constitution, require specific citation formats. |
How To Cite the Constitution Quiz
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the key differences between citing the Constitution in APA and MLA formats?
Do I need to cite the Constitution if I make a passing reference to it?
How do I cite a repealed or amended part of the Constitution in APA format?
What information is required for an MLA citation of the Constitution from an online source?
How do I cite a book version of the Constitution in MLA format?
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