Attributing Source Material in Academic Writing

Proper attribution of source material is crucial for academic integrity, demonstrating respect for intellectual property, and enhancing the credibility of scholarly work. Effective attribution acknowledges the origin of ideas, data, and language borrowed from external sources, allowing readers to verify information and explore the context of arguments presented.

Citation Styles and Formats

Overview: Academic disciplines commonly employ specific citation styles. Familiarity with these styles (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard) is essential. Each style governs formatting for in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and bibliographies or works cited lists.
MLA (Modern Language Association): Predominantly used in humanities disciplines. Employs parenthetical in-text citations with author and page number. Requires a "Works Cited" page at the end.
APA (American Psychological Association): Common in social sciences. Uses parenthetical citations with author, year, and page number. Requires a "References" page.
Chicago/Turabian: Used in history and other humanities fields. Offers two systems: notes and bibliography or author-date. The notes and bibliography system uses footnotes or endnotes for citations and a bibliography. The author-date system is similar to APA.
Harvard: A common author-date system, variations exist across institutions. Usually requires an alphabetized reference list at the end of the document.

Direct Quotations: Incorporation and Presentation

Short quotations: Generally integrated directly into the text and enclosed in double quotation marks. Accompanying citation should immediately follow the quotation.
Long quotations (block quotations): Exceeding a certain length (e.g., 40 words in APA, 4 lines in MLA) are typically set apart from the main text as a block. Indent the entire quotation (usually 0.5 inches or 1.27 cm) from the left margin. Quotation marks are generally omitted from block quotations. A citation follows the block quotation.
Altering quotations: Use ellipses (...) to indicate omitted words or phrases within a quotation. Use brackets ([ ]) to insert clarifying words or to modify the quotation to fit grammatically within the sentence. Any alterations must not distort the original author's meaning.

Elements of a Proper Citation

Author: Include the author's name (or corporate author) as it appears in the original source.
Title: Provide the complete title of the source (book, article, website, etc.).
Publication Information: Include relevant details such as publisher, publication date, journal title, volume and issue numbers, page numbers, or URL.
Page Numbers: Provide the specific page number(s) where the quoted material appears in the source.

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Even when paraphrasing or summarizing someone else's ideas, proper attribution is essential. A citation should be included to indicate the source of the information. Avoid plagiarism by accurately representing the original author's ideas in your own words and sentence structure.

Common Errors to Avoid

Failing to cite sources: Omitting citations for borrowed material is plagiarism.
Inaccurate citations: Providing incorrect or incomplete citation information.
Misrepresenting sources: Distorting the meaning of quoted or paraphrased material.
Over-quoting: Relying too heavily on direct quotations instead of developing your own analysis.