Documenting Sources Using APA Format What Is APA

Documenting Sources Using APA Format

What Is APA? Guidelines established by the American Psychological Association Ensures a degree of consistency and professionalism among individuals/groups who seek to research and have material published.

Why Use APA Format? Allows readers to check your sources easily Provides consistent format Gives you credibility as a writer Protects you from plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism Proper citation of your sources in APA style can help you avoid plagiarism, which is a serious academic offense.

APA Style: Two Main Components References (Bibliography) In-text Citations

In-text Citations In-text citations are brief citations within the text of an essay immediately after all 1. ) paraphrased or 2. ) quoted information.

In-text Citations: Paraphrasing 1. When PARAPHRASING a source. Paraphrasing means taking information from a source that is new to you and putting it into your own words.

In-text Citations: Paraphrasing Cite the author’s surname followed by the original year of publication.

Example 1: Paraphrasing To Kill A Mockingbird begins as a simple retrospective as the author takes the reader back to her childhood and it quickly turns into a complete ancestral history lesson (Lee, 1960). Note the placement of the parenthesis and period.

In-text Citations: Quotes 2. Use in-text citations when directly quoting any words that are not your own. Quoting means to repeat another source word for word (verbatim) using quotation marks.

Example 2: Quoting When quoting directly, use quotation marks and add the page number. “If General Jackson Hadn’t run the Creeks up the creek, Simon Finch would never have paddled up the Alabama, and where would we be if he hadn’t? ” (Lee, 1960, p. 3). Note the placement of the punctuation.

Example 3 It is important to note that if the author’s name was mentioned either in the paraphrase or directly preceding the quote, it would not have to be repeated in the citation. According to Harper Lee’s account of life in Maycomb, the town was partly founded by hypocrites (1960).

The Reference List A list at the end of your essay of every source you have referenced (paraphrased or quoted) in your essay. Provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited in your essay.

Book Source Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird. New York: Warner Books.

On-Line Article Wheeler, D. P. , & Bragin, M. (2007). Bringing it all back home: Social work and the challenge of returning veterans. Retrieved from http: //naswpressonline. org

On-line Article (2013). Youth Ventures. Featured entrepreneur: Emily Balsom, owner of Gemma Treasures. Retrieved from http: //youthventuresnl. tumblr. com/post/ 55870728379/featured-entrepreneuremily-balsom-owner-of-gemma

Documenting with APA can be tricky – there a variety of source types, each with its own format. If you run into something unusual, look it up or seek help.