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Course & Subject Guides

Finding Primary Sources @ Pitt: Citing Primary Sources

Learn to distinguish between primary and secondary sources; learn strategies for finding primary sources.

Citation Style Manuals

Which style manual you use to cite primary source materials will depend on your field of study. Follow your professor's specific guidelines.

The latest editions of the APA, MLA, and Chicago style manuals are kept in Reference or on Course Reserves at most ULS libraries.

Additionally, links to online sources that guide you through correctly citing the information you've found are available on the ULS website.

For Example

Letter (unpublished)

  • George Creel to Colonel House, 25 September 1918. Edward M. House Papers, Yale University Library. Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., note form
  • Benton, Thomas Hart. Letter to Charles Fremont. 22 June 1847. MS. John Charles Fremont Papers. Southwest Museum Lib., Los Angeles. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed., works cited
  • (Allport, G. W., 1930-1967, Allport to E. G. Boring, March 1, 1939) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed., in-text citation

Citing Sources Using a Citation Manager

Keep track of all of your reference lists and bibliographies. Pitt's library resources work with citation management tools and allow you to import citations from sources like PittCat and article databases. 

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