Writing a report in you own words shows that you

understand the concepts you are writing about.

Quotations should be used to illustrate a point that you are

making. Do not let quotations make your

point for you. If you do, you are not writing the paper, the person

quoted is.

Quotations are to illustrate a point or provide evidence for a

statement.

I write Ninety percent of minimum wage earners in Alberta are women with no attribution. Is it OK to do this?

1)The figure could be wrong.2)How do you know I’m not just

making it up?3)Search “women minimum wage

Alberta” on Google.

I write “Women accounted for almost two-thirds of minimum wage workers, but less than half of all employees.” with no attribution. What is wrong with this?

I am quoting a website without giving credit. This is plagiarism.

Go to the Portage College Library website

Look for “Write a Paper”See ALA and MLA style guides

See Knight Cite

APA StyleAPA style was developed by social and behavioural scientist to standardize scientific writing.

See Basics of APA Style Tutorial at bottom of APA Style page on the Portage College Library website.

Font stylesTimes New Roman (serif typeface) for textArial (sans serif typeface) for figure labels

Formatting Double-space the entire manuscript. Double-space between lines of body

text and titles, heading and block quotations.

Double-space the reference list and figure captions. Indent the first line of every paragraph one-half inch.

Align the text to the left-hand margin, leaving a “ragged” right margin.

When you submit the manuscript, number the pages consecutively starting with page 1.

Put the pages in the following order:Page 1, Title pagePage 2, AbstractPage 3, Beginning of textReferences begin on a new page after the last page

of text.Each table begins on a new page. Tables show

numerical or textual information.Each figure begins on a new page. Include the figure

caption on the same page as the figure. (non-textual).Each appendix begins on a new page.

Citing references in textCite the work of those individuals

whose ideas, theories or findings have directly influenced your work, even if you are paraphrasing or describing someone else’s idea.

If I write “Midodrine can cause a marked elevation in supine arterial blood pressure” I must cite the source of that information.

To avoid plagiarism and make your life easier, take careful notes as you research to keep track of all sources and collect the information you need to cite them properly.

Citing references in textAPA style uses the author-date

citation system. This system allows readers to find the sources cited in text in the reference list, where each source is listed alphabetically.

In text, this can look like this: (Smith, 2013).

If quoting, use (Smith, 2013, p.42).

Citing references in textIf a document uses paragraph numbers,

cite them using the abbreviation para.If the document includes headings and no

paragraph numbers, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph following it.

Citing references in textHere are some examples of author-date

citation when paraphrasing.Kessler (2003) found that among

epidemiological samples...Early onset results in a more persistent

or severe course (Kessler, 2003).In 2003, Kessler’s study of

epidemiological samples showed that...

The Reference ListThe purpose of a reference list is to help

readers find the sources you used. Therefore, the reference list should be as accurate and complete as possible.

All citations should be used in the reference list with the exception of personal communications and classical works.

Put references in order of the author’s surname, or the first author’s surname if there is more than one author.

The Reference ListUse the hanging indent paragraph

style. Double-space the entire reference

list.View specific reference examples

The Reference ListReferences contain the following

components:Author name or names,publication date,title of the work, andpublication data.

The Reference ListWhen you are citing a source you found on

the web or in an electronic database follow these general guidelines:

Include journal volume number and inclusive page numbers if this information is available.

Type or use the copy-paste function of your word processor to capture the article DOI and place it at the end of the reference.

If there is no DOI, cite the home page URL or database name.

Using Citation GeneratorsKnight Cite:On Library website, find Knight Cite

under Write a Paper.