Two Methods

• Depends on your audience
• Depends on the subject matter
• Gives readers an opportunity to consider your interpretation
• Creates a history of your reasoning process.

• There are many methodologies for source citation.
• Many are derivative
• First principles
– Use the method requested by your employer or professor
– Do not create your own citation method unless you get grant money to do it

• MLA
– Applies to the preparation of scholarly papers and student research papers.
– Is generally used in liberal arts programs
– 125 scholarly journals require MLA source citation.
– Applies to the mechanics of writing as well
– More info: www.mla.org
• APA
– The standard in social and behavioral studies
– Is the required standard of the American
Psychological
Association
– Is used by science researchers in general
– Follows the Chicago
Manual of Style as a general rule - if APA doesn’t define it the author uses CMS
– More info: www.apastyle.org

• For the purposes of this course you can chose a style appropriate to your career or academic pursuit.
• While both styles deal broadly with standards of language we will only concern ourselves with the citation process.
• A good investment

For the three basic citation elements go to: http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html#8
This displays the journal article, book, and book chapter citations

Electronic citations, or references to works obtained from the Internet follow this guideline at the APA website: http://www.apastyle.org/elecmedia.html
This reference is too long to reproduce here, however it emphasizes the differences between types of electronic citation methods.

• Questions you will need to answer for electronic citation
– Who is the author
– What is the URL
– Is the content original or does it build on previous citations
• The citation should, at least, indicate the title or content description, the date retrieved, and a direct
URL
– Avoid general URLs where possible, instead directing your reader immediately to the source, even if that URL is long and cumbersome

• For quick answers to your citation questions go to:
– http://www.mla.org/publications/style_faq
• An excellent online resource for MLA
(and APA) style guidelines is at:
– http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cit e5.html

• Citing online information in MLA style requires you to answer the same questions you faced using APA.
• There are many different online references
• If you can’t find the correct citation, base your method on standard MLA style.

• MLA
– Use citation numbers in text, i.e. citation (1)
– Quotes are handled with the author’s name and page number (Pauly 123)
– The most common, and easiest method is to list your citations in an
Endnotes, however footnotes at the bottom of the page are acceptable.
– The Works Cited page provides the bibliographic information
• APA
– The “Reference Page” lists all material used in paper.
– Quotes begin; Author
(year)…… and end with the page (p.11)
– Footnotes usually expand on cited material or provide depth to a particular element in the paper.

• Electronic resources, unlike their printed forebears, have a habit of moving or disappearing.
• Print any electronic materials as a backup. Don’t simply depend on the
URL.
• Retain the copy for your records, do not include with a paper.

• These styles typically apply only to research papers and essays.
• Should you be called on to give a presentation, don’t feel you must dogmatically follow the style guides.
• Quick references to cited materials in the PowerPoint and a “More
Information” slide at the end should suffice.

• There are a large number of helpful resources
– http://owl.english.purdue.edu
is one of the better ones. For an extended PowerPoint presentation on both APA and MLA styles go to: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/p p/index.html#research
– Buy the manual. It will be a valuable resource.