apa style citation and reference

8/3/2019 APA Style Citation and Reference

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Dr. George Rueckert Citation and Reference Academic WritingAPA Style

The purpose of citation and reference is to increase a writers authority. Citations and references

prove that the writers information is not made up, but can be confirmed from a legitimate

outside source. Academic institutions in the U.S. and Europe use various styles of citation and

reference. Two of the most popular are the MLA Style (developed by the Modern Languages

Association) and the APA Style (developed by the American Psychological Association). Hereat KIMEP we use the APA Style. However, the differences between these two styles are so

minor that if you know one, then you basically also know the other.

Both MLA and APA styles eschew the footnote system. Instead, they prefer a system of in-

text citation. This system has two steps. In the first step, the writer creates an alphabetized list

of sources at the end of the paper. The list can be titled either References or Works Cited. It

can also be called a Bibliography, but only if all the sources are books (biblio is the Greek

word for book).

The MLA and APA handbooks illustrate dozens of variations on how a particular source can

appear on this list. However, all citation and reference styles follow the same basic protocol.

The author is by far the most important information, followed by the title, followed by thepublication data. Here are some general tips, with some of the most common examples on thenext page.

Author. Because the list is alphabetized, the name of the author is always written with the last

name first. Any name after the authors name, though, is written in the normal order. If the work

has no known author, then it is alphabetized according to its title.

Title. The title of any work that stands independently is underlined or italicized. The title of any

work that is part of a larger work is put into quotation marks.

Publication Data. The examples on the next page show how to list publication data. Because

websites can be updated, you must list not only the URL but also the date you retrieved it. Also,if the website has no known author or title, then it must be alphabetized separately by URL.

Format. All references on the list are formatted with hanging indents. On MS Word, click on

the Format menu, then select Paragraph > Indents and Spacing > Special > Hanging.

Once the References list has been prepared, the writer moves on to the second step. At any

point where a statement of fact or opinion needs support, the writer inserts a parenthetical noteinto the text, which functions like an internet link. Usually this parenthetical in-text citation

includes either the authors last name or the first word of the title, if there is no author. Forprinted sources, the page number is also included. Heres an example from an actual student

research paper:

The worsening of school food in the UK began in the late 80s and early 90s, when a

conservative government forced schools to sell contracts to private bidders. The result

was that they often opted for cheaper rather than better food. One example was the so-

called Turkey Twizzler, which contained 21 percent fat when cooked (McGuiness 35).

Students were forced to eat food that was obviously unhealthy for them.


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Dr. George Rueckert Citation and Reference Academic Writing

APA Style Examples

Book with One Author

Rueckert, George L. (1993). Global Double-Zero: The INF Treaty from Origins to

Implementation. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Article in a Journal

Rueckert, George and Sofiya Yuzefpolskaya (2006). No Empty Game: Arsenii Tarkovskys

Memorial Verse to N.A. Zabolotsky and A.A. Akhmatova. Slavic and East European

Journal 50:1 (Spring). 201-229.

Chapter in an Anthology or Book

Rueckert, George R. (2003). Translation as Sentimental Education. In Povedenie perevoda v

kulture. Ed. Peter Torop. Tallinn, Estonia: Tartu University Press. 60-79.

Film, Video, or DVD

Demme, Jonathan, dir. (2004). The Manchurian Candidate. DVD. Paramount.

Audiotape, LP, or CD

Beatles, the (1990). Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. LP. Capitol.

Interview

Rueckert, George (2003). Interview with Sabine Lange, DAAD Fellow, University ofWashington. June 10, 2003.

Signed Article on an Internet Site

Rueckert, George (2002). New Developments at the Tartu School of Semiotics. Retrieved onSeptember 20, 2011 at http://aatseel.org/program/aatseel/2002/abstracts/Rueckert.html

Unsigned Internet Sites (Listed Separately)

www.uni-giessen.de (Retrieved September 21, 2011)

www.washington.edu (Retrieved September 21, 2011)


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Dr. George Rueckert Citation and Reference Exercises Academic Writing

1. A book called The Town and the City by Jack Kerouac, published in San Diego by Harcourt

Brace Jovanovich in 1978.

2. An article called Celebrations of the New World by Bob Shacochia in an anthology titled

Histories of the Heartland. The anthology was edited by Rick Blount and published in 1986

by Westphalia Press in New York City. The article appears on pages 201-219.

3. A translation by Eric Sutton of Jean-Paul Sartres novel The Reprieve. The translation waspublished in 1987 by Penguin Books in Harmondsworth, UK.

4. An anthology of new fiction called Hot Type, published in 1998 by Macmillan Press in New

York. The editor was John Miller.

5. An article called Archers of the Rain Forest by Robert C. Bailey. The article came out in

November 1989 in National Geographic Magazine, volume 176, issue number 5, on pages

665-686.

6. A film directed by Robert Altman called Short Cuts. It was released by Fine Line Features in

1993.

7. An unsigned article from the internet site http://vivisectioninfo.org/.

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