Citation Basics: CSE 8

This style manual is the authority for CSE citation and formatting rules.

The CSE citation style offers three formatting systems both your in-text citations and your references list:

1. Citation–Sequence (C-S)
2. Citation–Name (C-N)
3. Name–Year (N-Y)

Below is a brief summary of each way of formatting. For more information, see the CSE Quick Guide from the Scientific Style and Formatting website. Consult with your professor to determine which format of CSE is preferred for your class.

Citation–Sequence

Your reference list will be organized based on the order of your in-text citations, i.e., the first source you cite in your paper will be assigned the number 1 and will be first on your reference list, the second source cited will be number 2 and appear second on your list, and so on. In-text citations will appear as ^superscript numbers next to the information being cited.

Citation–Name

You reference list will be organized alphabetically by author's last name and assigned a corresponding number. In-text citations will appear as ^superscript numbers next to the information being cited.

Name–Year

Your reference list will be organized alphabetically by author's last name. Numbering for N-Y system is not required, in-text citations will appear as the author's last name and year of publication in parentheses, e.g., (Lastname 20XX).