How to Cite

How to Make an APA Citation and Other Secrets

If you need to write a research paper, remember that it should have proper in-text citations. Undoubtedly, a research paper that lacks proper citing seems careless and unrealistic. Such type of assignment requires working with many reputed and reliable sources. Obviously, you cannot be an expert in every field, so you have to find strong arguments. A paper where the arguments are supported by citations proves that the author worked carefully on the assignment and dedicated much time to writing an effective paper. An assignment with citations shows that the author analyzed the topic from the viewpoints of other researchers; he or she has taken their ideas into consideration while making own analysis. However, referring to the thought of another researcher, you should not just copy-paste someone’s idea from a reliable source. You have to take many factors into consideration making an APA citation, MLA citation, or any other one. Indeed, citing a paper requires many skills since there many writing formats exist, and each one has its own requirements for citing the sources. Therefore, being a student, you should understand how to cite every source used in a paper according to the required writing style.

There exist three the most important citing techniques:

• Paraphrasing. This is a technique that the student uses when he or she needs to retell the author`s thought with own words. The simplest way to do it is to take some idea and retell it by the other words without changing its meaning.
• A direct quotation. This technique allows you to put the original author`s phrase into your paper without any changes. It is just a copy-paste of the original thought. Undoubtedly, this idea should be properly cited in the text of your paper to avoid the plagiarism suspicion.
• A mixed quotation. Mixed quotation is a type of citation where paraphrasing and direct quote are mixed up. Again, you should put the citation to ensure the reader that you are not a plagiarizer.

Sometimes, learners do not know how to use the methods mentioned above effectively. However, it is unacceptable in academic writing not to mention the author whose thoughts you use as the base for your research. Once again, each source you use should be formatted according to the required writing format. The requirements of APA, Harvard, Chicago, and MLA formats are quite different.

APA Referencing

APA referencing is mainly author/date based style. In other words, the emphasis is placed on the author as well as the date of the publication. APA citation is simple and the most common way for citing your paper. The reference list in the APA format should be written in alphabetical order by the writer`s surname. Therefore, one can characterize the referencing according to the following features:

• The sources mentioned in the reference list should appear in alphabetical order by the writer`s last name. If there is no the last name of the author, you should classify your sources by the name of the work.
• The titles of books, journals, and articles are always italicized.
• The paper should be double-spaced, 12 Font Times New Roman.

Harvard Referencing

Harvard citation style has many similarities with APA. If APA writing format is widely used in the USA, the Harvard referencing style is mainly followed in the educational institutions of the UK and Australia. Harvard style does not restrict your writing in terms of punctuation. Usually, the students should capitalize the author`s name.

If you need to cite a book, do not forget to mention:

• The name of the author or an editor;
• The year of publication;
• The book`s title;
• The city of publishing;
• The name of the book`s publisher;

If you need to cite an article from some journal, do not forget to note:

• The name of the author;
• The date when the journal was published;
• The article`s title;
• The journal`s title;
• The pages in the journal where  the reader can find the article;
• Other information that can be useful for the reader – the volume or the issue number.

If you cite an electronic source, be sure to record

• The date when you accessed the source;
• The electronic address where the source may be found;
• The type of the source (web page, e-mail, blog, forum, etc.)

Chicago Referencing

Chicago referencing style is unique; is not as common as the previously analyzed styles. Chicago is widely used in history and economic research papers.

When you need to write a paper in Chicago style, do not forget to note:

• The author`s last name and first name;
• The title of the book or article;
• The place of the source`s publication;
• The publisher;
• The date of publication.

MLA Referencing

MLA (Modern Language Association) is widely applied in most of colleges and universities, especially in arts and humanities. Many students consider MLA referencing style as the best of the writing styles since it is quite easy and simple. Unlike APA and Harvard referencing, MLA requires a Works Cited page at the end of the paper. These sources prove the paper is credible and help the reader navigate through the paper. For MLA referencing:

• Record all the sources used in the paper in the alphabetical order by the author`s last name;
• All the main words in the titles and subtitles in the Works Cited list should be capitalized;
• Use the “and” conjunction when there are several authors of the source;
• Do not use the abbreviation p. or pp. when you point to the page numbers;

We assure you that you may find the effective manuals online and learn more about an APA style citation. We assure you that if you understand all the peculiarities, the APA citation format will be the easiest thing to do when preparing a paper. Become a professional writer right now!