How to Reference Images, Tables and Figures

Images, charts and tables can say in a glance what a page of text cannot, and they are as much part of your sources as any quotation. Markers look for them to be numbered, captioned, mentioned in the text and, when not your own, credited. A great graph with no credit is plagiarism, and a copied image with no permission can also be a copyright problem.

This guide explains how to use and reference visual material in APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago, and how to stay on the right side of both citation rules and copyright. The examples use invented sources to show the format.

The steps

The sections below take each step in turn.

Step 1: Can you use it?

Citing an image does not give you permission to use it. Check before you copy:

• Public domain or openly licensed material, such as Creative Commons images, can be used following their terms.
• Material from your course readings is usually fine within the course, but check your instructor's rules.
• Copyrighted images from a publication or website may need permission if you publish your work, though use in a private assignment is often treated differently by institutions.
• Your own photographs, graphs and drawings are yours to use.

If you plan to publish your work, such as in a dissertation repository or a journal, copyright rules are stricter, and you may need written permission for reproduced figures.

Step 2: Record the source details

When you find the image or table, note:

• The creator or author.
• The title or a description.
• The date of creation or publication.
• The publisher or website, and the URL.
• The page number if it came from a book or article.
• The license, if one is stated.

These details are hard to find again later, so capture them at the moment you save the image.

Step 3: Number it and mention it

Number figures and tables separately and in the order they appear: Figure 1, Figure 2, Table 1, Table 2. Refer to each one in your text before it appears, such as "As Figure 2 shows,..." Never drop a visual into a paper without telling the reader why it is there.

Step 4: Write the caption and credit

APA 7

In APA, a table has a number and title above it, and a note below it for the source. A figure has the number and title above it, with the image beneath and the note below.

Figure 1

Average Study Hours by Year

[image]

Note. Adapted from "Study Habits in College," by J. Lee, 2021, Journal of College Learning, 14(2), p. 115 (https://doi.org/10.0000/example). Copyright 2021 by Northfield Press.

Use "From" if you reproduced it unchanged, and "Adapted from" if you changed it. If you created the figure from your own data, you do not need a credit line. If the work is licensed openly, state the license in the note.

MLA 9

In MLA, a figure is labeled "Fig." with a number, followed by a caption that gives the source below the image.

Fig. 1. Average study hours by year. Lee, Jordan. "Study Habits in College." Journal of College Learning, vol. 14, no. 2, 2021, p. 115.

Tables are labeled "Table" with a number and a title above, and the source goes below, in the same style. If you create the figure yourself, say so in the caption if helpful.

Chicago

Chicago uses a number and caption for figures and tables, with a source line or a note.

Figure 1. Average study hours by year. Source: Jordan Lee, "Study Habits in College," Journal of College Learning 14, no. 2 (2021): 115.

In notes-bibliography papers, you can also cite the source in a footnote attached to the caption.

Step 5: The reference list

Most styles expect a reference list entry for any figure or table you reproduce or adapt, using the entry for the original source.

• APA: list the original work, such as the journal article, in your reference list, and cite it in the figure note.
• MLA: list the source in Works Cited.
• Chicago: add the source to the bibliography.

For an image found on a website or a stock site, cite it as a webpage or an image, with the creator, title, date, site and URL. For a photograph in a book, cite the book.

Different kinds of visual material

Where a page gives its own "how to cite" text, use it as a guide, but check it against your style.

Creative Commons and the TASL rule

Openly licensed images have conditions, often including attribution. A helpful pattern is TASL: Title, Author, Source, License. For example: Student Studying by Rina Patel, via ExampleImages, licensed CC BY 4.0. Include a link to the license, and follow any extra conditions, such as not altering the image or not using it commercially.

Your own figures from published data

If you build a chart from data in a source, your chart is new, but the data are not. Credit the data in a note below the figure: "Data from World Health Organization (2021)." Cite the dataset in your reference list. State any calculations you applied.

Tables built from several sources

When a table combines information from different sources, cite each source in the row, in a column or in a note below the table. Make clear which entries come from where, so a reader can check them. Your own calculations and observations should be marked as yours.

AI-generated images

Rules for AI-generated images vary by institution and course. If AI images are allowed, credit the tool, the developer, the date and the prompt in the caption or a note, and check the tool's terms for how outputs may be used. If they are not allowed, do not use them. Our guide to citing AI tools covers the general principles.

Accessibility

Provide a text description for each image or chart, in the text or as alt text where the format allows it, so readers who use screen readers can understand it. Do not rely on color alone to carry meaning, and make sure text in figures is large enough to read. Many courses now ask for alt text in digital submissions, so check the brief.

Common mistakes

• Using an image without credit.
• Treating "found online" as "free to use."
• No number or caption.
• Not mentioning the figure in the text.
• Putting the source in the text but not the reference list.
• Saying "from" for an altered figure, where "adapted from" is correct.
• Low-resolution or unreadable figures.
• Missing alt text where it is required.

A quick checklist

• Am I allowed to use this image or table?
• Do I have the creator, title, date and source?
• Is it numbered, mentioned in the text and captioned?
• Is the credit line in the right style?
• Is the source in my reference list?
• Is it accessible, with a description or alt text?

Final thoughts

Visuals carry the same obligation as words: say where they came from. Record the source when you save the image, number and caption every figure, credit what is not yours and check that you are allowed to use it. Do that, and your charts and images will strengthen your work without creating a problem.