To make the paper formal while decreasing the opportunity for plagiarism, citation is important in academic writing. The way citation is inserted into the essay and used to provide the sources also show the degree of responsibility a student has. A responsible graduate student will display neatness and accuracy in his or her citations, not just in his or her essay.
Which kind of citation to use
Professors have preferred citation styles. However, some citation styles are already deeply associated with some specified purposes. If your professor does not give explicit instructions, you can always ask for advice on what citation to use. Your professor will most likely tell you that the MLA format is used for arts and the humanities. The APA, on the other hand, is associated with writings on psychology, the social sciences, and education. You can be more flexible with the all-encompassing Turabian style.
To get an idea of how the three citation styles are used, check for examples below:
Sample formats for book sources:
APA – Author 1 Last name, First name Initial., & Author 2 Last name, First name Initial. (Year of publication). Italicized book title. Place of publication (city/state): Name of publishing house.
MLA – Author 1 Last name, First name and Author 2 First name Last name. Underlined book bitle. Place of publication: Name of publishing house, Year of publication.
Turabian – Author 1 Last name, First name, and Author 2 First name Last name. Year of publication. Italicized book title. Place of publication: Name of publishing house.
Sample formats for encyclopedia sources:
APA – Author Last name, First name Initial. (Year of publication). Topic. In italicized name of encyclopedia (Vol. Number, pp. Pages). Place of publication: Name of publishing house.
MLA – Author Last name, First name. “Topic.” Underlined name of encyclopedia. Ed. Name of editor. Number of volumes. Place of publication: Name of publishing house, Year of publication.
Turabian – cited in the text and placed in parentheses (Author Name, “Topic,” in Name of Encyclopedia, Year of publication ed.)
Sample formats for Internet and magazine sources:
APA – Author Last name, First name initial. (Year of publication). Italicized title of article. Retrieved month day, year, from Title of book Website: web address
MLA – Author Last name, First name. “Article title.” Underlined title of book. Year of publication. Place of publication. Day of access month. Year <web address>.
Turabian – Author Last name, First name. Year of publication. Italicized title. Place of publication: Name of publishing house. On-line. Available from Internet, web address, accessed day month year.
For formats used to cite other sources, you can consult sites that focus on academic writing.
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