BBI2424 ACADEMIC WRITING/SEM1 2015_16/LECTURE NOTES 2/WEEK3

LECTURE NOTES 2

CITING & REFERENCING SOURCES

In-Text Citations
One important aspects of academic writing is making use of the ideas of other people. There are
several reasons for this:
 to show that you have understood the materials that you have studied
 you can use their ideas and findings in your own way
 to support the points you are making by referring to other people's work. This will
strengthen your argument.

In your writing, however, the main voice should be your own. Therefore it will always be assumed
that the words or ideas are your own if you do not say otherwise. When the words or ideas you are
using are taken from another source, you acknowledge it in the form of citation and referencing.

If you do not do this and use another person's words or ideas as if they were your own, this is
considered as plagiarism, and it is regarded as a very serious offence.

You should provide references to both ideas and information:

 data
 statistics
 tables
 direct quotes
 the opinions and ideas of other researchers.

You do not have to reference what is known as 'common knowledge'. This refers to information
that most people in a particular field would be expected to know, and which has the status of
established fact.

There are several different methods for citations and reference. In the American Psychological
Association (APA) style, a citation includes the following three pieces of information:
 The name of the author
 The year of the source
 Appropriate reporting verb

Citations can occur in one of two places:

Citing Your Source within the Sentence

Author’s last Date Reporting

name
 Include the year only. If no date is given write n.d. Verb
 Place in parentheses
 No extra punctuation

Bellafonte (1992) argues

Example: Bellafonte (1992) argues that genetic factor plays a role in people’s need to
take risks

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Citing Your Source at the End of a Sentence

Date
Author’s last name
 Include the year only. If no date is given write
 Last name only
n.d.
 Place in parentheses
 Place in parentheses after author’s name
 Place a comma after the name
 Put a period after the parentheses

(Bellafonte 1992).

Example: Extreme sports provide only a short-term superficial sense of satisfaction

(Bellafonte, 1992).

EXERCISE 1
Practise writing in-text citations using the information below.

1. Author : Ann Fishburn

Date : May 3, 2000
Paraphrase : Freedom to explore, a caring community and exciting art
projects are three important characteristics of an art
programme.

a. Citation within the sentence:

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

b. Citation at the end of the sentence:

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

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2. Author : John Litman

Date : August 12, 1999
Paraphrase : Green and yellow vegetables and liver (all nutritionally
desirable foods) were not liked by teenagers in Minnesota
public schools.

1. Citation within the sentence:

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

2. Citation at the end of the sentence:

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Citation Situations

1. Quotations
Occasionally you may want to quote another author's words exactly. You quote when: 
 an author expresses an idea particularly clearly or well
 an author expresses a particularly original idea
 you wish to illustrate the author's perspective
 you need to make a point about the author's language

You generally do not quote at great length: try to make quotes only long enough to make your
point. 
 Put quotation marks around quoted material.
 Put the page number after quoted material in parentheses.
 Put a period outside parentheses.

Citing within the Souza (1997) writes that “these spiralling human demands for
sentence: resources are beginning to outgrow the earth natural
resources” (p. 31).

Citing at the end “These spiralling human demands for resources are beginning
of the sentence: to outgrow the earth natural resources” (Souza, 1997, p. 31).

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2. Source with More Than One Author

If a source is written by two or more authors, you will need to use slightly different citation
formats.

Source with two  List the authors in the order they appear in the source.
authors:  Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text
and use the ampersand (&) when using the end-of-sentence
citation.

Citing within the Blackburn and Little (2005) note that exposure to secondhand
sentence: smoke can increase the risk of lung cancer by 30 percent.

Citing at the end Exposure to secondhand smoke can increase the risk of lung
of the sentence: cancer by 30 percent (Blackburn & Little, 2005).

Source with three  List the authors in the order they appear in the source.
to five authors:  Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text
and use the ampersand (&) when using the end-of-sentence
citation.
 In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name
followed by "et al."

Citing within the Kapline, South and Findel (2003) discover that dark chocolate
sentence: contains four times more antioxidants than green tea.

Citing at the end Dark chocolate contains four times more antioxidants than
of the sentence: green tea (Kapline, South & Findel, 2003).

Subsequent Eating chocolate may also help lowering the risk for both
citation: stroke and heart disease (Kapline et al., 2003).

Source with six or Include only the surname of the first author followed by "et al."
more authors:

Citing within the Hancock et al. (2001) found that participants in an online task-
sentence: focused discussion of limited duration tended to make fewer
judgments about the personalities of their partners.

Citing at the end Participants in an online task-focused discussion of limited

of the sentence: duration tended to make fewer judgments about the
personalities of their partners (Hancock et al., 2001).

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3. Unknown Author
Sometimes the author’s name is not given. In this case, you will need to use the
title of the source instead.
 Use the source title in place of the author with quotation marks.
 Include the year.
 Use the full title in the first citation. In later citations, use only the first two to four words of
the title.

Citing within the “Choosing Your Friends Wisely: Developing Lasting Friendship”
sentence: (2004) describes three common mistakes that occur in new
relationships

Citing at the end There are three common mistakes that occur in new
of the sentence: relationships (“Choosing Your Friends Wisely: Developing
Lasting Friendship”, 2004).

Subsequent “Choosing Your Friends” (2004) presents results from a survey

citation: on long term friendships suggesting that learning how to argue
respectfully is a key to making friendship last.

4. Groups as Authors
Some sources are written by a government agency, corporation, organisation or association
without an author name given. For these sources use the name of the organisation.
 Use the full name of the organisation in the first citation.
 If the name is long, shorten the title in subsequent citations.
 Include the year.

Citing within the The World Wildlife Federation (2015) reported in Kivalo and
sentence: elsewhere in Madagascar, trees are the number one source of
fuel for cooking and warmth and also main source of building
material

Citing at the end In Kivalo and elsewhere in Madagascar, trees are the number
of the sentence: one source of fuel for cooking and warmth and also main
source of building material (World Wildlife Federation, 2015).

Subsequent The WWF explained that the mangroves are being cut to build
citation: houses and cook food at a rate faster than new trees can grow.

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5. Indirect Source
Often sources include paraphrase and quotes from experts on the topic. You may want to use
this information that is included in the source but comes from someone other than the author.
 Include background information about the person whose idea you are using.
 Use an end of sentence format.
 Write “cited in” and then the last name of the author(s) of your source.

Joan Sinker, a San Francisco psychologist, argues that increasing wealth does not
result in greater happiness (cited in Hamblen, 2001).

In the example above, Hamblen wrote the article, and in her article she included a quote from
the psychologist Joan Sinker. If you want to use Sinker’s idea this is how you cite her
information.

Writing the Reference Page

Documenting your sources includes both citing sources within your paper and on a reference
page. The list of your references is the second of the two-part documentation process. The format
of information in the reference list corresponds to the citations within your paper.

In-text citation: Harper (2001) writes that later-born children are more likely to
pursue non-traditional careers.

Reference list Harper, E. (2001). Birth order and adult personality. New
entry: York: Collins Publication.

General Formating Guidelines For APA Reference Lists

 Double-space all entries.
 Have the first line of each entry at the left margin; indent subsequent lines five spaces.
 Use the author’s full last name and only the initial of his/her first name.
 If there is more than one author, separate the names by a comma and put an ampersand
(&) before the last author’s name.
 If the author’s name is unknown, write the title of the article first.
 Organise the entries alphabetically by the author’s name/title of the article.
 At the end of each item in an entry type a period unless the entry ends with a web address.

APA Reference List Formats for Specific Types of Sources

Each type of source has specific rules for how it should appear on a reference page. You can visit
the American Psychological Association (APA) http://www.apastyle.org/ for more information about
other formats for different sources.

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Reporting Verbs
Including verbs in your citation, such as “Jackson wrote” or “Copeland found,” often helps you
integrate source material smoothly. This citation technique also helps to prove that you are
actively engaged with your source material. Unfortunately, during the process of writing, it is easy
to the same few verbs repeatedly, such as “Jones said,” and “Smith stated,”.

Using strong and appropriate verbs help your reader understand how the source material presents
its ideas. There is a world of difference between an author who “suggests” and one who “claims,”
one who “questions” and one who “criticizes.” You do not need to consult your thesaurus every
time you cite a source, but do think about which verbs will accurately represent the ideas and
make your writing more engaging.

Below is a table of useful reporting verbs that you might use with citations. Please note, however,
that these verbs are not all interchangeable. Before selecting a verb, it is vital that you carefully
read the source and clearly understand the author’s claim(s). When you have chosen a verb, ask
yourself whether that is really what the author intended. You must make sure that you report
others’ work accurately.

The APA style emphasises the use of the simple present tense or present perfect tense when
you are discussing an author’s ideas or writing.

 Harrison evaluates…
 White demonstrates…
 Lee has suggested…

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There are certain conventions to follow when citing someone’s work. Words like “says”, “tells”,
“asks” are normally used in oral conversation but are not appropriate in formal academic writing.
The following table illustrates some appropriate words to use for reporting the work of others.

When you mention a published work for the first time, you can use the following basic patterns:

For the second or subsequent mentions of your sources in your paraphrase of a linked point,
you can use these patterns:

References:
Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Swales, J., & Feak, C. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
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EXERCISE 2
Choose one of the reported verbs suggested to complete the citations below.

state suggest/identify claim

1. Atrill et al. (2009) _____________ that the ultimate objective of accounting is to provide
information in reports which can be used by internal and external decision-makers".

lists suggests/identifies highlights

2. Bronson (2011) _____________ three questions to which external decision makers need
answers.

argues defines describes/outlines

3. Alan (2007) _____________ the users of special purpose reports as "users who have
specialised needs and who possess the authority to obtain information to meet those needs".

claims states suggests

4. Armstrong (2004) _____________ that historical cost accounting has "passed its use-by date".

propose say argue

1. In their study on acculturation, Birman, Sharpe, and Angeles (2004) ___________ a variety of
solutions to the current problem facing Australian cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, that of
“ghettoisation” (p. 77).

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EXERCISE 3
Use the information below to write either a citation within the sentence or an end-of-sentence
citation with suitable reporting verbs.

1. Source Title : “Study Skills for University Success”

Date : June 22, 2002
Paraphrase : Success in college depends on effective study habits.

Citation:

2. Author : National Organisation For women

Date : January 13, 2009
Paraphrase : Women still receive lower salaries on average for work than
men.

Citation:

3. Authors : Jenny Pope and Marge Green

Date : March 10, 2003
Paraphrase : Most students change their major at least once during their
undergraduate studies.

Citation:

4. Source Matt Simms

Author :

Date : January 21, 2003

Evidence Patricia Manning
Author:

Paraphrase : According to Patricia Manning, a spokeperson for the American

Cancer Society, the health effects of second-hand smoke are
still being studied.

Citation:

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5. Authors : Brian Henks, Brenda Smanke and Cecil Rose

Date : May 6, 2001
Paraphrase : Sustainable weight loss is most often achieved through losing
weight slowly by following a healthy diet and engaging in
regular exercise.

First Citation:

6. Authors : Gary Schwartz, Linda Russek, Lonnie Nelson, Christopher

Barentsen, Marks Kamman and Ron Weasly

Date : July 13, 2000

Paraphrase : Recent studies has eliminated fraud and coincidence as
possible explanations for the success of the mediums tested.

Citation:

7. Author : The National Science Board

Date : September 15, 2000
Paraphrase : Their beliefs may indicate an absence of critical thinking skills
necessary not only for informed decision making in the voting
booth and other civic venues (for example, jury duty), but also
for making wise choices needed for everyday living.

Citation:

8. Authors : Raymond Banks

Date : August 27, 2003
Paraphrase : Slightly increasing the incline on a treadmill can reduce the
impact on the knee joints for those who suffer from arthritis.

Citation:

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9. Source Sarah Belkins and Ruth DeFone

Author :

Date : October 6, 2002

Evidence Samuel Cruz and Dan Smith
Author:

Paraphrase : Samuel Cruz and Dan Smith, university researchers on

substance abuse, find that children of alcoholic parents are
less likely to find themselves in healthy, loving adult
relationships

Citation:

10. Source Title : “Dieting and Calories”

Date : June 20, 2008
Paraphrase : Anyone who wants to follow a diet with a caloric intake of 1000
calories or less should first consult with a physician.

Citation:

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