DOCUMENTING SOURCES

IN APA FORMAT
DOCUMENTING SOURCES
 Documentation of sources
must be written carefully by
paying close attention to
Remember: order of entry, author details,
REMEMBER::
publication details,
punctuation marks, line
spacing and text spacing.
IN-TEXT CITATION
 In-Text Citation

In-text citations are written as:

 direct quotation from the original source

 paraphrased extract from the original source

 In-text Citation Using Direct Quotation

Lee (2008, p. 132) explains that in terms of the types of text, text length and range of topics, the MUET
candidate is expected to make “great strides from Form 5.”

In investigating writing competence among pre medical undergraduates at UiTM, Abdullah (2004) found
that for the majority of respondents, the writing component was arduous due to “poor reading habits, lack
of vocabulary and ignorance of basic grammar” (p. 123).

The situation calls for urgent attention because the role of English as a global language is undisputable as
it “has become the de facto language for science and commerce” (Tschirner, 2012, p. 27).

Mastery of the English language is seen to pave the way for Malaysia’s progress and to maintain
sustainable development in the new millennium by influencing “all spheres of life from politics to media,
information and communications to education and research” (The Star, 2011, p. 45).
In-text Citation Using Paraphrasing Techniques

As stressed by Nation (2001), the responsibility of learning ultimately lies with the learner,
regardless of what the teacher does or what the course book offers.

The learner is the key factor in the learning process, no matter what the teacher or the
course materials offer (Nation, 2001).

The main variable in the learning process, according to Nation (2001), is the learner,
despite efforts by the instructor or what is offered by course materials.
In-text Citation Using Indirect Sources

Vocabulary is often conceived to be a learner’s nightmare and even their

greatest language problem (Green & Meara, 1995, as cited in Folse, 2006, p.
273).

In the Reference list, cite Folse.

Meara (1984, as cited in Segler, 2001, p. 1) proves that the typical lexical-
grammatical error ratio stands at 3 - 4 to 1.

In the Reference list, cite Segler.

According to Kenneth (as cited in David, 2001), most studies have focussed on
what to learn, instead of how to learn it.

In the Reference list, cite David.

Reporting Verb
When Not Using a Reporting Verb

Words are the building blocks of a language (Brown, 2008).

Despite the encouraging developments in the reading habit of

Malaysians in recent years, there have been grievances among
employers about our graduates’ poor command of English language
skills (Kulasagaran, 2011).
Citing Bibliographic Details
 Type Personal Author’s Full Name Surname In-text Citation Reference

Western Paul Nation Nation Nation Nation, P.

Irwin Henry Johnston Jr. Johnston Johnston Johnston, I. H., Jr.
Morry Van Ments Van Ments Van Ments Van Ments, M.
Izabella Kojic-Sabo Kojic-Sabo Kojic-Sabo Kojic-Sabo, I.
Marianne Celce-Murcia Celce-Murcia Celce-Murcia Celce-Murcia, M.
Richard St. Dennis St. Dennis St. Dennis St. Dennis, R.
John Ross Schmitt Schmitt Schmitt Schmitt, J. R.

Chinese Chan Swee Kai Chan Chan Chan, S. K.

Mak Kem Seng Mak Mak Mak, K. S.
Richard Tan Meng Kiat Tan Tan Tan, M. K. R.

Korean Park Kuen Yong Park Park Park, K. Y.

Kim Jung Su Kim Kim Kim, J. S.
Go Hyo Jin Go Go Go, H. J.

Vietnamese Thanh Son Nguyen Nguyen Nguyen Nguyen, T. S.

Ngo Xuan Minh Minh Minh Minh, N.X.
Phan Dan Hung Hung Hung Hung, P, D.
 Type Personal Author’s Full Name Surname In-text Citation Reference

Indian Nalini Arumugam Arumugam Arumugam Arumugam, N.

*C. Priyanka Chopra Chopra Chopra, P.
Paramjeet Kaur Kaur Kaur Kaur, P.
Surjit Singh Singh Singh Singh, S.
Manroshan Singh Bhatt Bhatt Bhatt Bhatt, M. S.
Sunita Kumari Chabra Chabra Chabra Chabra, S. K.

*you must know the surname

Malay / Muhammad Adnan bin Rosli Rosli Rosli Rosli, M. A.

Muslim Mahmood Al-Abadi Al-Abadi Al-Abadi Al-Abadi, M.
Rashidah Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahman, R.
Intan Marzita binti Saidon Saidon Saidon Saidon, I. M.
If the personal author’s name is not available, the institutional author or organisational author is cited.
Take note that for articles of unknown authors, the first three words of the article are used in double quotation marks
(“...”) for in-text citation, while the Reference list will have the title in full.
Type In-text Citation Reference

Institutional / Organisational / New Straits Times New Straits Times

Corporate author Newsweek Newsweek
Ministry of Education Malaysia Ministry of Education Malaysia
World Health Organisation World Health Organisation
Unknown author

a) Cite the title of the article:

English standard of undergrads still “English standard of” English standard of undergrads still not up
not up to par to par

The Hofstede Centre The Hofstede Centre The Hofstede Centre

a) Cite the source: (newspaper, The Star The Star

magazine)

1. Anonymous

When the work is written by Anonymous Anonymous

someone designated as
“Anonymous”, the citation is based
on the designated name.

1. Blogs
Blog owners who use a kampunghouse* kampunghouse
pseudonym as their pen name *cite the screen name
 Date of Publication

Type In-text Citation Date Reference Date

Institutional author New Straits Times (2014) New Straits Times (2014, January
(New Straits Times, 2014) 31)
New Straits Times
Ministry of Education Malaysia
Ministry of Education (2000) Ministry of Education Malaysia
Malaysia (Ministry of Education Malaysia, (2000)
2000) Gu (2003) proposed
another way to view
Unknown author vocabulary learning,
that is, to see it as a
Reading culture in the “Reading culture in” (2014) Reading culture in the digital era process of related sub
digital era (“Reading culture in”, 2014) (2014) tasks. Gu postulated that
a combination of various
Personal author
sub tasks would ensure
how and to what extent
Joseph Blake Blake (n.d.) Blake, J. (n.d.)* a new word is acquired
(Blake, n.d.) Unknown date when it is encountered.
* n.d. means no date
 Repeated Source by the Same Author

The major stakeholders, teachers and learners acknowledge that the MUET is a high stakes test
(Lee, 2009a).

Knowledge workers are necessary for our country to forge ahead in the world economy (Lee,
2009b).

According to Internet World Stats 2010, English ranks as the main language of Internet users with
536 million users (The Star, 2011a).

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FFM) has also expressed concern over the lack of
language proficiency among the workforce (The Star, 2011b).
 Multiple Sources

Cite according to alphabetical order

Previous studies conducted on leadership behaviour have not thoroughly addressed the topic
of ethical leadership (Crews, 2011; Trevino, Brown, & Hartman, 2003).

Leadership is very important in promoting ethical conduct in organisations (Brown & Mitchell,
2010; Russell, 2001).

Culture is claimed to play an important role in the manifestation of human feelings and
behaviour (Andrews, 2011; Hofstede, 2001; House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004;
Michaels, 2007).
Two Authors

For two, three, four, five or six authors, link them with the word “and” (when used in text) or “&” (when used in
brackets). Take note of punctuation marks.

Wong and Lim (2002) point out that despite English language being accorded the
status of a second language, many learners are inclined to regard it as a foreign
language.

Despite English language being accorded the status of a second language, many
learners are inclined to regard it as a foreign language (Wong & Lim, 2002).
Three to Six Authors

Ibrahim, Ariffin, and Osman (2006) postulate that low English language
achievement among Malaysian learners is due to low motivation levels and
negative attitude on the part of learners.

Low English language achievement among Malaysian learners is due to low

motivation levels and negative attitude on the part of learners (Ibrahim, Ariffin, &
Osman, 2006).

More than Six Authors

Haron et al. (2014) have proven that learner attitude is the most important factor for
successful learning experience.