When you use someone else's ideas in an article, you must give them credit.If you just put their ideas in your own words or directly quote them, you can give them credit.If you don't give them credit, you are plagiarizing, which is ethically dishonest and can have consequences such as getting a failing grade for your paper or being fired from a job.The American Psychological Association created the APA format for academics in the social sciences.This discussion will be limited to citations and not encompass a style of writing that is APA.
Step 1: Look for an author.
The author will be on the outside of the book.It's okay if there is more than one author.Georgia Smith is the author's name.
Step 2: You can find the publication date of your book.
The title page should have the publication date on it.The most recent date is used.The book's publication date is 1995.
Step 3: You can choose how you write your citation.
There are two ways to make a citation.According to Smith (1995), leaves turn red in the fall, you can name your author at the beginning of the sentence using only the last name.If you want to make an in-text citation, you can put a citation at the end of the sentence without directly referencing the author.The author and date are in parentheses, and the leaves turn red in the fall is an example.The author should be first and the date second.
Step 4: If your book was written by more than one person, then you should include multiple authors.
You can separate the authors' last names with an ampersand.If you have more than two authors, you separate them by their initials.There is an example of in-text citation for two authors.You always list all the authors when you cite the source for three or more authors.If you have six or more authors, you will always use the "et al." version, even with the first citation.
Step 5: If you use a direct quote, write the page number on it.
You will need the page number to explain where you found the information.If you are using a direct quote, you need the page number.If you found this quote on page 123, you can cite it in one of two ways.The page number should always be at the end of the sentence even if you introduce the author and date.The page number is always last, and you use Method 1 to cite the quote: "Smith (1995) discusses the process this way: 'In my experience, leaves change from dark green to red in the fall'."Just like before, you put the information in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
Step 6: The correct place to put the exclamation point is in the middle.
When making an in-text citation with a direct quote, the end quotation mark will come before the citation, followed by a period.
Step 7: Pick the author's name.
Just like with an in-text citation, begin your reference list citation with the author.The author's initials are required when you make a citation in the reference list.The author's last name should be first followed by a period.If you have more than one author, your citation would be: Smith, G., Davis, D.
Step 8: The citation should include the date of publication.
The date will be followed by a period.There is an example of Smith, G. Davis, and D.
Step 9: Write out the full title of the book.
The title of the book will be added.The first word of the title is capitalized in APA, unlike titles in other types of citations.The colon is used to introduce the subtitle.The words in the title are written in italics.It would look like this in our example.The world in our words: Why things happen.
Step 10: Write down the location of the book's publication.
The city is usually on the back of the title page.Pick the one closest to you if there are multiple cities.Don't use periods between the letters and use the postal abbreviation for the state.The city and state should be used in the same sentence.If your book was published in New York City, the citation would be: Smith, G. Davis, D.The world in our words is why things happen.New York City.
Step 11: Your citation should include the name of the publishing company.
Place a colon between the state that the book was published in and the company that published it.Our book was published by Treehouse Publishers.Our example would be: Smith, G. Davis, D.The world in our words is why things happen.New York City, NY: Treehouse Publishers.
Step 12: A hanging indentation is something that you should know.
You need to make a hanging indention when you format citations in your reference list.The first line of each citation will be all the way over to the left hand margin.
Step 13: If you have citations that are long, make sure they have hanging indentations.
To make a hanging indention, highlight your citations and use the ruler bar at the top of the page.If you click on the bottom arrow only, it will form a half-inch indentation.
Step 14: There is a double space on your reference page.
To double spacing your page, highlight the text and click on it.There is a list that appears.Under the headings of spacing and line spacing, select double.