Dr. Erica Cirillo-McCarthy
Assistant Director of Graduate and ADEP Writing
The California Lutheran University Writing Center
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Why cite?
Integrating sources
Three components of APA: attribution phrase, in text
citation, reference list
Attribution phrases
Examples of in text citations
Guidelines for the reference list
APA guidelines to address at the revision stage
APA resources
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“Provide readers with cues they can use to follow your
ideas more efficiently and to locate information of
interest to them
Allow readers to focus more on your ideas by not
distracting them with unfamiliar formatting
Establish your credibility or ethos in the field by
demonstrating an awareness of your audience and their
needs as fellow researchers” (OWL Purdue, 2012)
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Summary – a clear statement of the main
idea/purpose/hypothesis/methodology of a study
written in the reader’s own words.
Paraphrase – a much more focused articulation of an
idea/purpose/hypothesis/methodology in a study
written in the reader’s own words.
Quotation – must have a clear introduction and
contextualization.
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Whether you quote, paraphrase, or summarize….
Whether it’s an idea, a thought, a definition, a theory, or
a methodology, if it was first articulated by someone
else….
YOU MUST CITE YOUR SOURCE!
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Attribution phrase – a signal phrase used to tell the reader that
we are about to introduce a quote, summary, or paraphrase of
someone else’s idea, words, research, theories, or methodologies.
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In text – when we refer to our sources’ ideas, words, research,
theories, methodologies in the main body of our papers, we
follow a specific format which allows the reader to quickly find
the full citation located on the references list. For APA, we call
this the author date format, meaning both the author and the date
of publication (if you have it) of the text cited will be in the
included in the sentence of cited material.
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References List – the list of all sources referred to in our papers,
listed in a specific way so that readers can easily refer to a source
if they choose to do so.
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Helps the reader understand that the next bit of information
comes from a source other than the writer
Looks like this:
According to Smith (2011), students who utilize writing support
increase their independence and confidence in writing.
 (PARAPHRASE)
Smith’s study (2011) argues for increased writing support for
graduate students.
 (SUMMARY)
Smith (2011) finds that “writing support services have a direct
effect on student writing…” (p 234).
 (DIRECT QUOTE)
Verbs Used in Attribution Phrases
The verb you choose for an attribution (or signal) phrase should accurately
reflect the intention of the source.
acknowledges
concedes
illustrates
reports
admits
concludes
implies
reveals
agrees
declares
insists
says
argues
denies
maintains
shows
believes
endorses
observes
suggests
claims
finds
points out
thinks
comments
grants
refutes
writes
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Two ways to cite one work by 1 author
◦ Walker (2000) compared reaction times
OR
◦ In a recent study of reaction times (Walker, 2000),
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Two ways to cite one work by 2 authors
◦ Walker and Smith (2000) compared reaction times
OR
◦ In a study of reaction times (Walker & Smith, 2000),
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One work by 3, 4, or 5 authors:
◦ First reference in the paragraph will give all names, and subsequent
references in the same paragraph will use “et al.” (no italics and with
period after “al”)
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Wader, Rosen, and Rock (1994) found (1st citation)
Wader et al. (1994) found (2nd citation in paragraph)
Wader et al. found (subsequent citations in paragraph)
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One work by 6 or more authors:
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◦ Cite only the surname of the first author and “et al.” with the year for
all citations
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Quotations must be cited by author, year, and page
number (p. 213) or paragraph number (¶ 4) for html
articles
◦ Ex.: (Oksuta, 2003, p. 57)
◦ Ex.: (Feingold, 1989, ¶ 16)
◦ Ex. (Feingold, 1989, Conclusion section, para. 6)
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Alphabetical by first author’s surname
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Multiple works by the same author are ordered by year of
publication, with the earliest first
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One-author entries precede multiple-author entries
beginning with the same surname
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If there is no author, use the title of the piece.
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Use (n.d.) if no date is given
 Commas
◦ Set off year from author in parenthetical reference (Miller,
1997)
 Quotation
marks
◦ For verbatim material from an outside source
◦ Use double quotes (“normal” behavior) for invented and
coined expressions, but only the first time used
 Semicolon
◦ Separate multiple parenthetical references (Johnson, 1987;
Sacks & Wheaton, 1992)
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Yes it is! APA style has specific guidelines on the following
stylistic decisions:
◦ Use active voice and first person:
 Ex. We conducted experiments….(not “experiments were conducted…”)
◦ Strive for clarity and concision:
 Be specific for your audience: who did what? How did they do it? Why did
they do it? What was the end result? Revise for clear, declarative sentences
◦ Avoid poetic language:
 No metaphoric images
 If you have a choice between two words, go for the one that is most clear and
uniformly understood, not because it sounds smart, verbose, or flowery
When you are doing the final formatting, look at the following
sections and refer back to the APA style guide:
 Title page and abstract
 Paragraphs and headings
 Abbreviations
 Mathematics and statistics
 Units of measurement
 References
 Notes and footnotes
 Tables and figures
 Copyright and quotations
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Make an appointment at the Writing Center to sit with a
tutor who can show you how to use the reference guide:
http://www.callutheran.edu/writing_center
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Head to this great website:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu and click on APA format
and style guidelines
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Buy or borrow the most current APA Style Guide from
the library, the CLU bookstore, or your favorite online
used book resource
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Questions?
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Thank you! Please visit the CLU Writing Center in the
Pearson Library: www.callutheran.edu/writing_center
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Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (n.d.) APA
Style. Purdue Online Writing Lab. Retrieved from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.
Rasmussen, K. (2003). A writer's guide to research and
documentation (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.