Referencing and Citation

Referencing and Citation

A citation or reference is a quotation from an authoritative source which you have used to support an argument.

MLA In-text Citation (Parenthetical Citation)

Generally, a parenthetical citation includes the author's last name and the page number(s) of the information used.

Direct Quotations

Place the author's name either in parentheses or within the sentence. For example:

According to Jones, "Students often had difficulty using MLA style" (199).

OR

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using MLA style," but she did not offer an explanation as to why (Jones 199).

Place long direct quotations in a left-indented block. For example:

Jones's study found the following:

Students often had difficulty using MLA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (199)

Summary or Paraphrase

Indicate the source by the author and the page number(s) in the parentheses. For example:

According to Jones, MLA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (199).

Works with more than one author

For works with two or three authors, give the last name of each person listed. For example: (Rabkin, Greenberg, and Olander vii)

For works with more than three authors, use the first author's last name followed by et al. For example: (Wong et al. 145)

- adapted from http://hkbu.libguides.com/c.php?g=200507&p=1318560 

For more details Watch this vidcast on YouTube 


What's the difference between a citation, a reference and a bibliography?

You identify sources by citing them in the text of your assignment (called citations or in-text citations) and referencing them at the end of your assignment (called the reference list or end-text citations .

The reference list only includes the sources cited in your text. It is not the same thing as a bibliography, which uses the same referencing style, but also includes all material (for example, background readings) used in the preparation of your work.

A list of citations makes up a bibliography. Teachers will need to see a bibliography to support an extended piece of research or coursework.

The bibliography may be checked:-

  • To see that you have reported other people’s findings accurately.
  • To ensure that you have not copied your work directly from somebody else

    (Plagiarism)

You must always acknowledge the sources of information you have used. It is immaterial if you found the information on the Internet, in a newspaper, book or journal or by talking to a specialist in the subject. This code of practice applies whether the work you are doing is for internal or external examination.

References

This is how you acknowledge ideas in the main body of your work, as you go along

e.g. Coffee creams have now overtaken strawberry creams as the most horrible Quality Street flavour (Bell, 2011).

Bibliography

This is the alphabetical list of all the sources you have read for your assignment, whether or not you have cited them in the body of your work.

Online Tools

There are several online tools that will help you with creating your references and bibliography. They are all free tools you can use.



Referencing: The Basics

There are several accepted standard ways with which you should refer to the sources you have used. These include MLA, Harvard and APA. Individual teaching staff or examination boards may require you to use a particular citation model, HOWEVER , in all cases the things that are important are as follows:-

  • Who said it (the author)
  • What did they say (Title of book or website)
  • When did they say it (Date of publication)
  • How/Where did they say it ( book, journal, website)

Have a look at this online tutorial about Referencing from Mondofacto:-


Cite them Right: a key text for further advice and information