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APA Citation Tools and Guides/ Avoiding Plagiarism

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to see the general citation requirements for all courses!

WHAT IS A CITATION? When do i cite? 

WHY SHOULD I CITE SOURCES?

  A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again. There are 2 places you cite: in the body of your assignment / paper (in-text), and at the end on your "reference page."  click on more of the tabs to see examples and guides.  

WHEN DO I NEED TO CITE?

Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The following situations almost always require citation:

  • Whenever you use quotes
  • Whenever you paraphrase
  • Whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed
  • Whenever you make specific  reference to the work of another
  • Whenever someone else's work has been critical in developing your own ideas.

Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's work without plagiarizing. But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:

  • citations are extremely helpful to anyone who wants to find out more about your ideas and where they came from
  • not all sources are good or right -- your own ideas may often be more accurate or interesting than those of your sources. Proper citation will keep you from taking the rap for someone else's bad ideas
  • citing sources shows the amount of research you've done
  • citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas.

DOESN'T CITING SOURCES MAKE MY WORK SEEM LESS ORIGINAL?

Not at all. On the contrary, citing sources actually helps your reader distinguish your ideas from those of your sources. This will actually emphasize the originality of your own work.

 

Bibliographies, Citation and Plagiarism

  • Bibliography
    A bibliography is a list of the sources used to research a topic. A bibliography generally contains information about each source such as the title, author, date and publisher.  A bibliography can also include annotations that summarize or evaluate sources.

 

  • Citation
    Citations are used to credit the source of words or ideas used in your research or writing. Citations are the only way to use someone else’s word or ideas in your own work, without plagiarizing.

 

  • Plagiarism
    Plagiarism is when you steal another’s ideas or words and claim them as your own.  It is also plagiarism when you use another’s ideas or words and fail to credit the source.

 

For more information, visit:

What's a citation?

This diagram helps point out the elements of a citation for a journal article.  The citation helps other readers find the information you used to research your paper, and verifies the quality of information in your own work.  A citation list also helps give credit to the writers and researchers whose work came before your own. 

 

SHORT CUTS! 

Many of our periodical databases will create citations for you.  Just look for the icon to customize a citation in your chosen format (APA), then copy the citation into your own word document or saved file.  Keep all your citations in one place so writing your bibliography is easier.

 

 

***Purdue OWL: APA FORMATTING AND STYLE GUIDE***

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 General Format / Style Guides 

 

Do you want to use the APA Tools in Microsoft Word, Microsoft 365, and/or Google Docs? Click on the links below to learn more.

Microsoft Word

Office 365

*Note* Some reference sources will use the term "Bibliography." Please title your References page sources as "References" on your last page of your assignment or paper. 

 In-Text Citation Guides

 

Reference List Guides

Sample papers are used to guide the writing of your original paper and help you understand what an APA research paper looks like.

They should not be copied or submitted as your own work.

This would result in a plagiarism error and would be considered cheating. 

Citation Machine

Citation Machine 

Citation Machine automatically generates citations in MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian.

 

How It Works:
1. Choose your style (MLA, APA etc.)

2. Search. Then make your selection from the list of search results

3. Edit and Create. Edit information and create a citation for your works cited or bibliography.

 

Citation Builder

Citation Builder 

North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries developed the Citation Builder. Citation Builder cites books, chapters or essays from books, magazine articles, newspaper articles, journal articles and websites.

 

How It Works:
1.Select source (book, website, newspaper etc.)
2. Enter information (author, title, url)
3. View Citations

 

Citefast

Citefast

Cite your work in four easy steps! 
Your incredibly fast and free citation generator
Use APA 6th ed., MLA 7th ed. and Chicago 16th ed.

 

How It Works:
1.Select source (book, website, newspaper etc.)
2. Enter information (author, title, url)
3.View Citations

 

KnightCite

KnightCite 

KnightCite is maintained by the Hekman Library at Calvin College, Michigan. The service was created in 2004 and is available to members within and outside the Calvin community. It generates bibliographic citations for MLA, APA and Chicago Manual of Style.

 

How It Works:
1. Choose your style (MLA, APA etc.) from the top left corner.

2. Select source (book, website, newspaper etc.)
3.Enter information (author, title, url)

4.View Citations

 

BibMe

BibMe 

The fully automatic bibliography maker that auto-fills. It's the easiest way to build a works cited page. And it's free.

 

How It Works

1. Select format (APA, MLA etc.)
2. Search for the title of your book, article, website, or film, or enter the information yourself.

3. Select your resource from the list.

4. Add the citation to your bibliography and continue to build your works cited list.

5. Download your bibliography in either the MLA, APA, Chicago or Turabian formats. It's that easy! 

This tutorial shows how to setup APA Format in Word 2010
 
 

The Basics of APA Style : Tutorial

The Basics of APA Style 

This tutorial is designed for those who have no previous knowledge of APA Style®. It shows users how to structure and format their work, recommends ways to reduce bias in language, identifies how to avoid charges of plagiarism, shows how to cite references in text, and provides selected reference examples

APA Referencing : Tutorial 

APA Referencing Tutorial 

A library tutorial from Oregon State University

Purdue Owl APA Workshop : 

Purdue Owl : APA Workshop Tutorial

This workshop provides an overview of APA (American Psychological Association) style and where to find help with different APA resources. It provides an annotated list of links to all of our APA materials and an APA overview. It is an excellent place to start to learn about APA format.

Click here to be taken to the Evaluating Resources subject guide.