How to Cite a White Paper

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A white paper is a report, typically produced by a government agency, corporation, or other research organization. These reports can be helpful sources for research papers in many different fields. Typically, white papers are cited similarly to other government reports. The format of your citation will differ depending on whether you're using the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), or Chicago citation method.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

APA

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  1. 1
    Begin your reference list entry with the name of the author. If the paper credits an individual author, type their last name and first initial. Place a comma between the name and initial. If no individual author is credited, list the institution that produced the paper as the author. Place a period after the name of an institutional author. [1]
    • Example: Deal, A.
  2. After the name of the author, type the year the paper was published or released. Place a period after the year of publication, outside the closing parentheses. [2]
    • Example: Deal, A. (2009).
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  3. Type the title in italics. Use sentence case, capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns. After the title, use the words "White paper" in square brackets to describe the document. Place a period after the closing brackets. Do not italicize the bracketed information. [3]
    • Example: Deal, A. (2009). Collaboration tools [White paper].
  4. Type the word "Retrieved" followed by the date you accessed the URL, in month-day-year format. Then type the word "from" and identify the institution that published the paper. Type a colon, then provide the direct URL for the paper. Do not place a period at the end of the URL. [4]
    • Example: Deal, A. (2009). Collaboration tools [White paper]. Retrieved July 27, 2018 from Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University: http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/technology/whitepapers/CollaborationTools_Jan09.pdf
  5. APA style calls for author-date parenthetical citations when you quote or paraphrase a source in the body of your paper. Separate the author and year with a comma. If the parenthetical occurs at the end of the sentence, place the period outside the closing parentheses. [5]
    • Example: (Deal, 2009).
    • If you mention the author's name in the text, put the year in parentheses immediately after the author's name.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

MLA

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  1. If the white paper credits an individual author, type their last name, followed by a comma, then their first name. If no individual author is credited, use the name of the government agency, corporation, or organization that produced the paper as the author. [6] Place a period after the author's name. [7]
    • Example: Deal, Ashley.
    • If the institutional author is also the publisher, skip the author's name and list the title first. [8]
  2. Type the full title of the white paper in quotation marks. Use title case, capitalizing all nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adverbs in the title. Place a period at the end of the title, inside the closing quotation marks. [9]
    • Example: Deal, Ashley. "Collaboration Tools."
  3. Many white papers are released as part of a series or collection of papers on a broad subject area. If a series is identified, type the title of that series or collection in italics. Place a period at the end. [10]
    • Example: Deal, Ashley. "Collaboration Tools." Teaching with Technology White Paper .
  4. The publisher typically will be a government agency, corporation, university, or research organization. Type the publisher's name, followed by a comma. Then type the date of publication in day-month-year format. If you have a URL for the paper, place a comma after the date. Otherwise, use a period. [11]
    • Example: Deal, Ashley. "Collaboration Tools." Teaching with Technology White Paper . Carnegie Mellon University, 23 January 2009,
  5. Add the direct URL for the paper, if available. Typically, you'll access a white paper online. Provide the direct URL (or "permalink") for the paper, without the "http://" portion of the address. Place a period at the end of the URL. [12]
    • Example: Deal, Ashley. "Collaboration Tools." Teaching with Technology White Paper . Carnegie Mellon University, 23 January 2009, www.cmu.edu/teaching/technology/whitepapers/CollaborationTools_Jan09.pdf.
  6. When you quote or paraphrase the white paper, MLA requires a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. This citation directs your readers to the full entry in your Works Cited. Use the author's name, or the title of the paper for institutional authors. Place a period outside the closing parentheses. [13]
    • Example: (Deal).
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Chicago

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  1. If the white paper credits an individual author, type their last name first, then a comma, then their first name. If no individual author is credited, use the name of the institution that published the paper as the author. Place a period after the author's name. Add the year the paper was released or published, followed by a period. [14]
    • Example: Deal, Ashley. 2009.
  2. After the year, type the title of the paper in quotation marks. Use title case, and place a period at the end of the title, inside the closing quotation marks. If the paper is part of a larger series or collection of papers, type that title after the title of the paper. Place a period at the end. [15]
    • Example: Deal, Ashley. 2009. "Collaboration Tools." Teaching with Technology White Paper.
  3. The sponsoring organization is the government agency, university, think tank, or corporation that commissioned or released the white paper. Place a comma after the name, then the day and month of publication, followed by a period. If a specific date is not provided, place a period after the name of the sponsoring organization. [16]
    • Example: Deal, Ashley. 2009. "Collaboration Tools." Teaching with Technology White Paper.Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University, January 23.
  4. If you accessed the white paper online, include a direct URL for the paper in your citation so your readers can access the same source. Place a period after the URL. [17]
    • Example: Deal, Ashley. 2009. "Collaboration Tools." Teaching with Technology White Paper. Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University, January 23. http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/technology/whitepapers/CollaborationTools_Jan09.pdf.
  5. Chicago style calls for a footnote to cite your source in the body of your paper whenever you quote or paraphrase it. Footnotes follow the same format as the bibliography entry, except that elements are separated by commas rather than periods. Individual author's names are listed in first name-last name format. The only period in a Chicago-style footnote is at the very end. [18]
    • Example: Ashley Deal, 2009, "Collaboration Tools," Teaching with Technology White Paper, Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University, January 23, http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/technology/whitepapers/CollaborationTools_Jan09.pdf.
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  • Question
    At the end of the publication and before the URL, someone has put: 'pp.1-20'. What does this mean?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    It means "pages one through twenty." "pp." is the abbreviation for pages.
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  • Question
    How do I cite if the white paper has no author?
    Kim G
    Top Answerer
    If the white paper has no author, you can cite the organization from which the document originated.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
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      Warnings

      • White papers fall into a category known as "grey literature," and may be considered less authoritative than studies or articles published in books or peer-reviewed journals. Talk to your instructor or supervisor before using a white paper as a source. [19]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/APA7th/reports
      2. ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/APA7th/reports
      3. ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/APA7th/reports
      4. ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/white-paper-references
      5. ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/white-paper-references
      6. ↑ https://libguides.up.edu/mla/common/government-legal
      7. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html
      8. ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/mla-tricky-citations
      9. ↑ https://style.mla.org/works-cited/works-cited-a-quick-guide/article
      1. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html
      2. ↑ https://guides.library.unr.edu/mlacitation
      3. ↑ https://guides.library.unr.edu/mlacitation
      4. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
      5. ↑ https://acrl.ala.org/IS/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IS-Publications-Chicago-Manual-of-Style-Quick-Guide.pdf
      6. ↑ https://libguides.nps.edu/citation/chicago-nb
      7. ↑ https://acrl.ala.org/IS/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IS-Publications-Chicago-Manual-of-Style-Quick-Guide.pdf
      8. ↑ https://libraries.emory.edu/sites/default/files/2022-01/chicago-citation-guide-papers.pdf
      9. ↑ https://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/chicago_fn.pdf
      10. ↑ https://guides.lib.monash.edu/grey-literature/whatisgreyliterature

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      A white paper is a report produced by a government agency, corporation, or research group, and can be a helpful source for research papers. To cite them in APA format, start by writing the last name and first initial of the author, placing a comma between them. If there isn’t an author, list the institution that produced the paper. After the author, write the year the paper was published in parenthesis, followed by a period. Then, write the title of the paper in italics, and after the title, write “White paper” in square brackets, followed by a period. Finish the citation by typing the word “Retrieved” followed by the date, then type the word “from” and provide the direct URL for the paper, without a period at the end. Use the author’s name and year of publication in parenthesis for any in-text citations. To learn how to cite a white paper in MLA or Chicago format, keep reading!

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