Basic Academic Reference How To
- 1. Where did your information come from?A guide to basic references for academic writingBecka Barker, InstructorSCH School of Global Education and ExchangeHonors Summer Program
- 2. Are you writing about……a historical event?…something in the news?…something that is a reported fact?…something that did not completely come from your own imagination?
- 3. …then you MUST tell readers where your information came from. The American Psychological Association (APA) is a popular guide for listing information sources.
- 4. Here is the latest APA method for listing the most popular information sources, such as websites,news articles, andBooks.
- 5. for websites:URLName of websiteDate (when you saw it)Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 14, 2009, from http://www.imdb.com/ title/tt0330373/
- 6. For news articles:Name of NewspaperVolume/NumberPage numberDateName of articleDateAuthorGenn, A. (2003, August 24) Director takes leading role in women’s entertainment group. Long Island Business News, p. 2
- 7. For books:Name of BookWhen publishedPublisher name and cityPublisher name and cityAuthorFox, J. (2009). The Myth of the rational market. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
- 8. Where do you list these books, websites, and news articles?
- 9. On a separate page after your essay, list your sources in alphabetical order (by author).
- 10. If you use any exact phrases or sentences in your essay from these sources, be sure to do the following:List the author’s name, year, and page number where you found the original words.Use quotation marks!“ ”
- 11. It is important to do this to show respect to authors and scholars who came before you.AristotleConfuciusyour essayyouAlbertEinstein
- 12. If you DON’T do this, you are being dishonest. In Western universities, students are EXPELLED for stealing other peoples’ ideas.your essayyou
- 13. If you DON’T do this, you are being dishonest. In Western universities, students are EXPELLED for stealing other peoples’ ideas.GOOD references = a STRONG essayNO references = possible FAIL
- 14. Good luck and happy writing!