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The easiest way to start citing on Wikipedia is to see a basic example. The example here will show you how to cite a newspaper article using the {} template (see Citation quick reference for other types of citations). Copy and paste the following immediately after what you want to reference:
While editing a page that uses the most common footnote style, you will see inline citations displayed between <ref>...</ref> tags. If you are creating a new page, or adding references to a page that didn't previously have any, remember to add a References section like the one below near the end of the article: ==References== {{reflist}}
Each in-text cite is formatted as a superscripted alphanumeric character called the cite label and is enclosed by brackets; example: [1]. The cite label has an HTML link to the full citation in the reference list. In-text cites are automatically ordered by the cite label starting from the first use on a page.
Footnotes with list-defined references Shortened footnotes Citations can also be placed as external links , but these are not preferred because they are prone to link rot and usually lack the full information necessary to find the original source in cases of link rot.
If someone tagged your contributions with a "Citation needed" tag or tags, and you disagree, discuss the matter on the article's talk page. The most constructive thing to do in most cases is probably to supply the reference(s) requested, even if you feel the tags are "overdone" or unnecessary.
A short citation is an inline citation that identifies the place in a source where specific information can be found, but without giving full details of the source. Some Wikipedia articles use it, giving summary information about the source together with a page number. For example, <ref>Rawls 1971, p. 1.</ref>, which renders as Rawls 1971, p. 1.
This example is the most basic and includes unique references for each citation, showing the page numbers in the reference list. This repeats the citation, changing the page number. A disadvantage is that this can create a lot of redundant text in the reference list when a source is cited many times. So consider using one of the alternatives ...
Place the reference material you are referring to after the completed {{note}} template, and ensure that the {{ref}} and {{note}} templates are correctly linking to each other by checking the spelling. There are several templates that can help with the citation format. For example, the full reference for the Navy citation should read as follows: