How to Cite SparkNotes

Co-authored by Jennifer Mueller, JD

Last Updated: July 13, 2021 References

SparkNotes are written by professors and graduate students to help you study and understand great works of literature. These guides are available for free online. If you want to use an idea or explanation you read in a SparkNotes guide, you must cite the guide as the source of that idea or explanation. While the basic information you include in your citation will usually be the same, the format will differ depending on whether you're using the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), or Chicago style of citation.^{[1]
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Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

MLA

1
List the author of the guide. Start your MLA "Works Cited" entry with the name of the author. For SparkNotes guides, the author is considered "SparkNotes Editors." Place a period after the name of the author.^{[2]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors.
2
List the title of the guide in quotation marks. The title for any SparkNotes guide is the phrase "SparkNote on" followed by the title of the book that the guide discusses. Place a period at the end of the title, inside the closing quotation marks.^{[3]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on Hamlet."
3
Provide publication information for the guide. After the title of the guide, list the name of the company that published the guide, followed by a period. Then provide the year the guide was initially published. Type a period after the year, then add the word "web" to indicate you accessed the guide online. Follow that with a period.^{[4]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on Hamlet." SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web.
4
Close your citation with the date you accessed the guide. Type the day you last accessed the guide online using day-month-year format. For most months, use the 3-letter abbreviation, rather than writing the month out. End your citation with a period.^{[5]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on Hamlet." SparkNotes LLC. 2007. 1 Oct. 2018.
5
Use the name of the group author for in-text citations. MLA uses the author and page number for parenthetical citations in the text of your paper. Since SparkNotes guides don't have pages, you only need to include the group author's name in your parenthetical citation.^{[6]
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- Example: (SparkNotes Editors).
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

APA

1
Start your full reference entry with the name of the group author. The SparkNotes editors are considered a group author. While APA typically only uses first initials, this is not the case with group authors. Place a period at the end of the name of the group author.^{[7]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors.
2
Provide the year of publication in parentheses. Type a space after the period following the group author's name, then type the year the guide was first published. Place a period after the closing parentheses mark.^{[8]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors. (2002).
3
Include the title of the guide in regular font. The title of a SparkNotes guide consists of the phrase "SparkNote on" followed by the name of the work of literature discussed. Place a period at the end of the title.^{[9]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors. (2002). SparkNotes on The Chosen.
- APA uses sentence-case for titles, in which only the first word and any proper nouns are capitalized. However, the title of the work discussed is considered a proper noun phrase.
4
Close with the URL and date of retrieval for the guide. Type the word "Retrieved," followed by the date you accessed the guide in month-day-year format. Do not abbreviate the month. Place a comma after the year, then type "from" and copy the direct URL for the guide cited.^{[10]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors. (2002). SparkNotes on The Chosen. Retrieved October 1, 2018, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/chosen/
5
Use the group author and the year of publication for in-text citations. APA uses author-year in-text parenthetical citations whenever you paraphrase or quote from a source. Separate the group author and the year of publication with a comma.^{[11]
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- Example: (SparkNotes Editors, 2002).
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Chicago

1
List the SparkNotes editors as the group author. A full bibliographic citation in Chicago style begins with the name of the author. For a SparkNotes guide, use the group editor provided rather than a specific name. Place a period after the name.^{[12]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors.
2
Provide the title of the guide in quotation marks. After the group author's name, copy the phrase "SparkNote on" followed by the name of the work of literature covered in the guide. Place a period at the end of the title, inside the closing quotation marks.^{[13]
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Research source}
- Example: SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on Anna Karenina."
3
Include publication information for the guide. After the title of the guide, type the name of the publisher of SparkNotes, followed by a period. Then type the year the guide was originally published, also followed by a period.^{[14]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on Anna Karenina." SparkNotes LLC. 2002.
4
Close with the URL and date of access. After the year of publication, copy the direct URL to the guide. Type a space, then type the word "accessed" along with the date you accessed the guide in month-day-year format. Enclose the date of access in parentheses. Place a period after the closing parentheses mark.^{[15]
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- Example: SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on Anna Karenina." SparkNotes LLC. 2002. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/anna/ (accessed October 1, 2018).
5
Change the punctuation for in-text footnotes. Chicago-style footnotes contain the same information as the full bibliographic citation, but use commas instead of periods to separate the parts of the citation. Publication information is enclosed in parentheses. The only period is at the end of the citation.^{[16]
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Research source}
- Example: SparkNotes Editors, "SparkNote on Anna Karenina" (SparkNotes LLC, 2002), http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/anna/ (accessed October 1, 2018).
- In a Chicago-style footnote with an individual author, you would change the order of their name relative to the bibliography. However, a group author remains the same.
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Tips

When citing SparkNotes, it's more accurate to list "SparkNotes Editors" as the author, rather than using an individual name. Most SparkNotes guides are written collaboratively by a team of professors and graduate students, rather than by an individual person.^{[17]
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You can also click on the "How to Cite This SparkNote" link at the bottom of the Table of Contents for any SparkNotes guide. It will take you to a page that shows you the correct citation format and information for that particular guide.^{[18]
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Warnings

Instructors often frown on using study guides, such as SparkNotes, as sources in a research paper. Discuss the source with your instructor to make sure it's okay before you use it as a source.

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