How to cite your sources
Week 2 Assignment
Why is it important to learn how to cite your sources properly in an academic research paper? Why should I learn MLA, APA or Chicago Turabian? Well, many researchers spend years figuring out the statistics you see in the peer reviewed articles you read. In order to give these researchers credit for their many years of hard work and research, we cite their names in our paper. We also learn notation systems to avoid plagiarism. We plagiarize when we take/steal other people’s research and call it our own. How would you feel if you spent years researching a topic and somebody else took credit for your research? So, learn to give researchers the credit they deserve by learning how to cite properly in MLA, APA or Chicago Turabian depending on your field/discipline.
Practicing MLA. APA or Chicago Turabian
The purpose of this assignment is to learn how to write a direct quote, a paraphrase quote, and a reference citation in your notation style—MLA, APA or Chicago Turabian.
A direct quote is when you cite the author word per word (verbatim).
A paraphrased quote is when you summarize or put in your own words the source.
A reference citation is a citation you put in the References/Works Cited at the end of your paper.
If you want to know which citation style to use with your major, consult The APUS Library Style Guide for Majors.
Do not choose an article from Wikipedia because Wikipedia does not have reliable scholarly sources. Instead, choose a scholarly peer-reviewed article from the APUS Library or from Google Scholar.
Watch this How to make a Direct quote, a paraphrase and Summary video to learn the difference between the three. Most majors in APUS use the APA format so if you want to learn how to format or write an APA paper, Watch this APA video.
Tell me your name, major and notation style. (MLA? APA? Chicago Turabian?)
Tell me the topic and article you chose for this assignment.
Write a direct quote from that article.
Paraphrase the quote used in the article.
Write a reference citation of that article.
Sample homework assignment from the previous student:
My name is Stan Smith. My major is Philosophy, and the notation style for my major is MLA formatting.
For the topic of this assignment, I am choosing the article, How to deal with Grief by John Smith.
My direct quote will be as follows: “We should deal with grief in stages” (Smith, 22).
My paraphrase quote will be as follows: John Smith claims that we should handle grief a little at a time (Smith, 22).
My reference citation will be as follows: Smith, John. “Dealing with Grief.” The New York Times, 22 May 2007, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/science/earth/22ander.html?_r=0. Accessed 12 May 2016.
ENGL 110 Citation Exercise Rubric
How do I find the research guides in the APUS Library?
You can find APA, Bluebook, Chicago/Turabian and MLA style guides linked on the library’s website. (Not sure which style guide you should be using? Click here.)
1. On the libray’s website, hover over the RESOURCES & SERVICES menu.
2. Look beneath Writing@APUS and click the APA Style, Bluebook Style, Chicago Style, MLA Style or Turabian Style link.
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