Citation

What Citation is and the Reasons for Citing

The main reason behind the practice of proper referencing is to given credit to the source of your
borrowed ideas, pieces of evidence, statistics, quotations, illustrations, and so forth. You give credit to
your source by providing your reader with sufficient information on where it is that you obtained the
idea, piece of evidence, etc., from. By giving credit to your sources not only are you being
academically honest, you are also showing your reader the parts of your work that you can
legitimately claim credit for.
A second reason behind the practice of proper referencing is to allow your readers to locate and
examine the source from which you have made reference to in your work. A sceptical reader of your
work may need to locate the source to check the veracity of your claims. An interested reader may
wish to locate the novel, poem or website article that you have mentioned in your own work.
The providing of reference information is systematised in accordance with citation or referencing
styles. Some referencing styles that are used in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences are: Chicago
(or ‘Turabian’), Harvard, APA, MLA. The reason for the existence of different referencing styles is
primarily that the referencing needs of disciplines differ (which is partly the result of the existence of
different kinds of primary material, e.g. a sociologist might need to make reference to the oral
testimonies of persons and not to the piano sonatas of Schubert as a musicologist might).
Your own department may insist that you use a specific citation style; the best way to find out is to
ask a tutor from your department. In addition, I would highly recommend that you observe the
referencing style of papers published in important journals in your discipline. Not only would you
come to know which referencing style your department might require, you will also see how proper
referencing is done.
Remember:
(i) that proper referencing is required even if you have successfully paraphrased the
words found in a source;
(ii) that proper referencing is required even if the source is an unpublished piece of work
(e.g. manuscript, power point slides);
(iii) to stick to one citation style and one version of that chosen citation style in your
work.
Question for discussion: what is ‘borrowed citation’? Answer: the misuse of referencing to show that
one has studied some material and is, therefore, able to report it when the material in question was
studied and reported by someone else (whom the author does not cite).
Activity
The following is an excerpt from an article published in The Straits Times; in this excerpt the author,
Ivan Fernandez, explains to readers why it is that the newspaper refused to publish an opinion
contributed by Lee Wei Ling, daughter of the late Lee Kuan Yew. Discuss this excerpt with your
tutor; in particular, ask yourself this important question: do you agree with Fernandez that Lee Wei
Ling has plagiarised? Here is the except:
Several issues of serious journalistic concern arose from recent allegations by Dr Lee Wei
Ling, a former columnist of The Sunday Times, after she blogged about events last month
to commemorate the death of her father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

1
In a Facebook post on April 1, Dr Lee wrote: “i will no longer write for SPH as the
editors there do not allow me freedom of speech. in fact, that was the reason why i posted
the article on LKY would not want to be hero-worshipped.”
[…]
In another posting, Dr Lee alleged that her article, which had earlier been sent to me for
publication in The Sunday Times, was rejected because I had deemed certain parts as
"irrelevant", while she thought them crucial.
I need to set the record straight on this. I did not say they were ‘irrelevant’, although I did
have serious concerns about her latest draft, which I shall come to shortly.
I should first clarify an issue of wider interest to readers, namely, how commentaries are
edited when submitted for publication.
In reviewing opinion pieces, an editor strives to stay true to the thrust and tone of the
commentator, while bearing in mind professional standards relating to accuracy, fairness,
the use of language, coherence, relevance, brevity, the law, and judgment on matters such
as race and religion, among other things.
In the case of Dr Lee's contributions, her ideas had to be honed and language tightened.
This editing process is necessarily a two-way affair, as with all commentaries in general.
Dr Lee sent me her article on what she considered ‘hero-worshipping’ of her father on
March 21. Over the course of that week, there were some 40 e-mails about the column, as
we worked to get it ready for publication.
I sent her my edited version for her review on March 23, with the intended date of
publication being Sunday, March 27.
She replied on March 23 (the day of Mr Lee's death anniversary), saying: “Reads well.
But I want to wait until the day unfolds completely.”
So all seemed well up to then. On March 25, I received another version of the column
with substantial additions that I found distracting at first reading because of repeated
references to China (Mao Zedong's China had already been mentioned higher up in her
piece).
But there was another issue as well. Upon checking the accuracy of a quote she cited
from British Prime Minister David Cameron, and other further checks, I found that
almost three quarters of the additions had been plagiarised.
I had learnt from experience with Dr Lee's columns that her sources needed to be double-
checked.
The additional paragraphs are shown below, with the plagiarised parts in italics:
“Firstly when Chairman Mao died on 9 September 1976, the country was in shock. This
was partly the result of the keenly felt loss of a semi-divine leader, but also caused by the
enormous uncertainty about what the future held in stock for China and its people. The
power struggle between Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four on the one hand, and Mao's
designated successor Hua Guofeng on the other, which had been smoldering for some
time caused grave anxiety for many people in China. However, on 6 October 1976, within
a month after Mao's death, Hua had the Gang of Four arrested. Two days after the arrest
of the Gang, the highest organs of the party and the state decided that a Memorial Hall
would be built as a permanent tribute to the founder of the People's Republic. On 24
November 1976, the foundation stone for the gigantic building, located to the south of the
Monument to the People's Heroes on Tiananmen Square was put in place. The
construction went on day and night, and the building was finished on 29 August 1977. On

2
that same day, Mao's body, which had been embalmed and placed in a crystal
sarcophagus, was moved to the Hall. On 9 September 1977, a ceremony was held to
commemorate the anniversary of Mao's death and the completion of the Hall.”
“The anniversary of the funeral of Winston Churchill took place 50 years after the actual
funeral on 30 January 1965, which brought the capital to a standstill and took place a
week after his death aged 90 on 24 January, is being marked by scores of events,
including a service and wreath laying at the Houses of Parliament, a memorial service at
Westminster Abbey, and the rebroadcast by BBC Parliament of the original live
coverage. In a tribute to his most famous predecessor, the prime minister, David
Cameron, said: 'Half a century after his death, Winston Churchill's legacy continues to
inspire not only the nation whose liberty he saved, but the entire world. His words and
his actions reverberate through our national life today.”
“Compare the actual time from death to the first commemoration, and the different
activities involved in the commemoration in the two leaders above. Which one would
Papa wish commemoration to resemble. Also bear in mind, that unlike almost all leaders,
Papa was dead set against a personality cult. If he was forced to choose one form of
commemoration, Papa would have objected the least if the commemoration resembled
that held for Winston Churchill. Do note that Churchill unlike Papa cherished glory and a
place in the history of his county. Compare what Churchill's commemoration which was
conducted 50 years after his death with the activities that have been taking place in
Singapore that lasted a week. I think Papa would have objected if he were able to convey
his view.”
The first paragraph was from an obscure website [http://chineseposters.net/themes/mao-
after.php]:
When Mao Zedong died on 9 September 1976, the country was in shock. This was partly
the result of the keenly felt loss of a semi-divine leader, but also caused by the enormous
uncertainty about what the future held in stock for China and its people. The power
struggle between Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four on the one hand, and Mao's
designated successor Hua Guofeng on the other, which had been smoldering for some
time, was about to be fought out in public.
However, on 6 October 1976, within a month after Mao's death, Hua had the Gang of
Four arrested.
Two days after the arrest of the Gang, the highest organs of the party and the state
decided that a Memorial Hall would be built as a permanent tribute to the founder of the
People's Republic. On 24 November 1976, the foundation stone for the gigantic building,
located to the south of the Monument to the People's Heroes on Tiananmen Square (天安
门广场), was put in place...
The construction went on day and night, and the building was finished on 29 August
1977. On that same day, Mao's body, which had been embalmed and placed in a crystal
sarcophagus, was moved to the Hall. On 9 September 1977, a ceremony was held to
commemorate the anniversary of Mao's death and the completion of the Hall.
The second paragraph was from London's The Guardian newspaper
[http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/30/winston-churchill-50th-anniversary-
of-funeral-commemorated]:
The anniversary of the funeral on 30 January 1965, which brought the capital to a
standstill and took place a week after his death aged 90 on 24 January, is being marked
by scores of events, including a service and wreath laying at the Houses of Parliament, a
memorial service at Westminster Abbey, and the rebroadcast by BBC Parliament of the
original live coverage.

3
 In a tribute to his most famous predecessor, the prime minister, David Cameron, said:
"Half a century after his death, Winston Churchill's legacy continues to inspire not only
the nation whose liberty he saved, but the entire world. His words and his actions
reverberate through our national life today."
In Dr Lee's e-mail on March 25, she said she was adamant that The Sunday Times run the
latest version of her article unedited.
She added: “I am going to blog this version or a similar version of this. If there are
copyright issues, then I won't sell my copy right to SPH. I thought long and hard about it.
I want the version I decide on. I hv my reason for my decision. It does not matter to me
whether u agree with me or otherwise.”
Later that day, without any notice, she went ahead to post that version of the article
online, thereby bringing an end to any further discussion on the editing of the column.
Given the plagiarism it contained, there was no question of our publishing her version of
the article. Further, as a matter of policy, we do not run a version of a column in our
papers when another version of it has been published online.
[…]
Fernandez, I. (2016, April 9). Why ST did not publish Dr Lee Wei Ling’s column. The
Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/why-dr-lees-column-
was-not-published
Now, after you have decided for yourself whether Lee’s article contains plagiarised material, evaluate
the opinion of a netizen (‘Martin Piper’) who left a comment on the news article above:

Martin Piper. (2016, April 8). Re: Why ST did not publish Dr Lee Wei Ling’s column.
[Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/why-dr-lees-
column-was-not-published

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Some Examples of How Citation is Carried Out
In what follows I will provide examples of how the four citation styles mentioned above handle four
common types of sources, namely, books, chapters in books, journal articles and internet websites (do
note that there are many variations even among these types of sources, e.g. internet websites
with/without authors; but I’ll simply be sticking to one of these types).
A note in passing: the Chicago style comes in two versions. In the first version, you are required to
provide (in a footnote) the full bibliographic information of a source; and subsequent references made
to that source requires a (shorter) footnote containing fewer bibliographic information. This version of
the Chicago style may not require that you provide a bibliography or reference list at the end of your
essay. In the second version of the Chicago style, all references to sources are given in the shorter
footnote form. This second version requires a bibliography or reference list. I will provide examples
of long and short footnotes and bibliographic entries.

Book
APA:
According to John Rawls (1971), “[a] conception of justice characterizes our moral sensibility when
the everyday judgments we do make are in accordance with its principles” (p. 46).
Reference list:
Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Harvard:
According to John Rawls, “[a] conception of justice characterizes our moral sensibility when the
everyday judgments we do make are in accordance with its principles” (1971, p. 46).
Reference list: Rawls, J. 1971. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
MLA:
According to John Rawls, “[a] conception of justice characterizes our moral sensibility when the
everyday judgments we do make are in accordance with its principles” (46).
Works Cited: Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1971.
Chicago:
According to John Rawls, “[a] conception of justice characterizes our moral sensibility when the
everyday judgments we do make are in accordance with its principles”. 1
Long footnote: 1John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971),
46.
Short footnote: 1Rawls, Theory of Justice, 46.
Bibliography: Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971.

Chapter in Book

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APA:
Fredric Jameson (1999) famously contended that the phenomenon of postmodernism can be
understood as a cultural by-product of late capitalism.
Reference list:
Jameson, F. (1999). The cultural logic of late capitalism. In A. Elliott (Ed.), The Blackwell reader in
contemporary social theory (pp. 338-350). Oxford: Blackwell.
Harvard:
Fredric Jameson (1999) famously contended that the phenomenon of postmodernism can be
understood as a cultural by-product of late capitalism.
Reference list: Jameson, F. 1999. ‘The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism.’ A. Elliott. (ed.). The
Blackwell Reader in Contemporary Social Theory. Oxford: Blackwell: 338-50.
MLA:
Fredric Jameson (338-350) famously contended that the phenomenon of postmodernism can be
understood as a cultural by-product of late capitalism.
Works Cited: Jameson, Fredric. “The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism.” In The Blackwell Reader in
Contemporary Social Theory, ed. Anthony Elliott. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. 338-350.
Chicago:
Fredric Jameson famously contended that the phenomenon of postmodernism can be understood as a
cultural by-product of late capitalism.1
Long footnote: 1Fredric Jameson, “The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism,” in The Blackwell Reader
in Contemporary Social Theory, ed. Anthony Elliott, 338-350 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999).
Short footnote: 1Jameson, “The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism,” 338-350.
Bibliography: Jameson, Fredric. “The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism.” In The Blackwell Reader in
Contemporary Social Theory, edited by Anthony Elliott, 338-350. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999.

Journal Article
APA:
It has been argued that the criteria by which one assesses the sustainability index of a city ought not to
privilege cities in developed countries over those in developing countries (Mori & Christodoulou,
2012).
Reference list: Mori, K., & Christodoulou, A. (2012). Review of sustainability indices and indicators:
Towards a new sustainability index (CSI). Environmental Assessment Impact Review, 32(1), 94-106.

Harvard:

It has been argued that the criteria by which one assesses the sustainability index of a city ought not to
privilege cities in developed countries over those in developing countries (Mori and Christodoulou
2012).

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Mori, K., and Christodoulou, A. 2012. ‘Review of Sustainability Indices and Indicators: Towards a
New Sustainability Index (CSI).’ Environmental Assessment Impact Review, 32(1): 94-106.

MLA:
It has been argued that the criteria by which one assesses the sustainability index of a city ought not to
privilege cities in developed countries over those in developing countries (Mori and Christodoulou).
Works Cited: Mori, Koichiro and Aris Christodoulou. “Review of Sustainability Indices and
Indicators: Towards a New Sustainability Index (CSI).” Environmental Assessment Impact Review
32.1 (2012): 94-106.
Chicago:
It has been argued that the criteria by which one assesses the sustainability index of a city ought not to
privilege cities in developed countries over those in developing countries. 1
Long footnote: 1Koichiro Mori and Aris Christodoulou, “Review of Sustainability Indices and
Indicators: Towards a New Sustainability Index (CSI),” Environmental Assessment Impact Review,
32:1 (2012): 94-106.
Short footnote: 1Mori and Christodoulou, “Review of Sustainability Indices and Indicators: Towards a
New Sustainability Index (CSI),” 94-106.
Bibliography: Koichiro, Mori, and Aris Christodoulou. “Review of Sustainability Indices and
Indicators: Towards a New Sustainability Index (CSI).” Environmental Assessment Impact Review
32:1 (2012): 94-106.

Internet Websites
APA
Intellectual virtues such as honesty, courage and the love of truth will help college students become
good citizens (Schwartz & Sharpe, 2012).
Reference list: Schwartz, B., & Sharpe, K. (2012, February 19). Colleges should teach intellectual
virtues. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-
Should-Teach/130868?cid=trend_right_a

Harvard:
Intellectual virtues such as honesty, courage and the love of truth will help college students become
good citizens (Schwartz and Sharpe 2012).
Schwartz, B. and Sharpe, K. 2012. ‘Colleges Should Teach Intellectual Virtues.’ Available at
http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Should-Teach/130868?cid=trend_right_a

MLA:
Intellectual virtues such as honesty, courage and the love of truth will help college students become
good citizens (Schwartz and Sharpe).
Works Cited: Schwartz, Barry and Kenneth Sharpe. “Colleges should teach intellectual virtues.” The
Chronicle of Higher Education 19 Feb. 2012. 1 Jan. 2016 <http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-
Should-Teach/130868?cid=trend_right_a>.

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Chicago:
Intellectual virtues such as honesty, courage and the love of truth will help college students become
good citizens.1
Long footnote: 1Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe, “Colleges Should Teach Intellectual Virtues,”
The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 19, 2012, http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Should-
Teach/130868?cid=trend_right_a (accessed January 1, 2016).

Short footnote: 1Schwartz and Sharpe, “Intellectual Virtues.”

Bibliography: Schwartz, Barry, and Kenneth Sharpe, “Colleges Should Teach Intellectual Virtues.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 19, 2012, http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Should-
Teach/130868?cid=trend_right_a (accessed January 1, 2016).

Activity
Notice that the MLA style does not require the year of publication to be featured in in-text citations,
but a citation style such as the APA does have this requirement
Why does a difference in format exists amongst different styles of referencing?
Answer: disciplines using the APA style place emphasis on dates of publication because knowledge
of how recent a publication is may be important in ascertaining its significance.
An Afterthought
Plagiarism—or the passing of someone else’s idea as one’s own—is contemptible; but what is just as,
if not more, contemptible is the practice of masking unwarranted hostility in the form of academic
scholarship. For instance, to say that truth or that which we can know to be true is, in some sense,
‘historically determined’, or that it reflects certain power structures in society is to say something
which is itself wrapped around ideology. Ideology survives only insofar as there is conformity to
orthodoxy, and an effective way for such conformity to gain strength in numbers is for its followers to
lay claim to authority through an industry of fake scholarship. Although I do not know what exactly
the value of truth is, but what I do know is that the flourishing of a community through its everyday
communion with culture is based on what is true and what we can know to be true. The
marginalisation of the value of truth through an industry of fake scholarship, then, hints at the decline
of communities.