Words: 916
The Use of References in Academic Papers
What is Referencing (or Citing)?
For the majority of students, citing and referencing may seem challenging and even daunting. However, in most cases, the initial instructions given by the educators require the use of some credible and reliable sources while completing a paper. Let’s discuss the notion of referencing and the main difficulties relative to referencing that are usually faced by college undergraduates.
First of all, referencing (citing) can be defined as acknowledging all the sources of information that the college undergraduates used in their academic assignments such as an essay, a research paper, a report, or a term paper. By citing a reference, they acknowledge different sources used in the process of writing. In the case, if students fail to provide a proper reference, they will be punished for plagiarism that is usually regarded as a serious academic offense.
Needless to say that plagiarism is considered equivalent to cheating. As a result, they may be given a zero on their written assignment. In some cases, a high percentage of plagiarism may lead to the individual’s expulsion from college or university.
Apart from that, by referencing some scientific journal articles, you acknowledge the contribution of the other scholars in your work. In this case, you give credit to the researchers and respect their intellectual property rights. It is common knowledge that references are used to support all the claims and arguments presented in the paper. For instance, if you use the reliable sources, like journal articles, scientific books, and some governmental reports, the citations taken from these publications will make your writing more persuasive.
Can I Use References in a College Assignment?
Yes, you can use references in a college assignment. What is more, you have to cite the sources you have used in the paper in order to prevent a high similarity known as plagiarism. For general development, it is useful to read about how to use Harvard referencing in assignments.
Can I Use any Kind of Sources in My Academic Writing?
No, you cannot use any kind of sources in your academic writing. The reason for this issue is the fact that all the college assignments require the use of credible and reliable sources. So, let’s discuss the materials that can be used in your paper as well as the ones that cannot be cited.
Referencing is appropriate if you take the ideas from:
– books and scientific journal articles;
– credible magazines and newspapers;
– brochures and pamphlets;
– films, documentaries, and international television programs;
– some digital resources (e-mails, letters, or discussion forums);
– reprinted diagrams, charts, and illustrations;
– reliable websites.
You can determine the reliability of websites by means of the URL’s ending:
1. If a website ends in .edu, in most cases, it has been created by an educational institution. That’s why it this source can be used in your paper.
- If a website ends in .gov, you can add it to the list of references since it is a reliable government website.
Do not use in your paper:
-blogs, tweets, and forums;
-personal websites and some questionable web pages that may provide biased information;
-editorials and self-published sources;
– online sources with the URLs ending in .html;
– online sources with the URLs ending in .com.
How to Write an Assignment with References?
To begin with, it is important to mention that your academic paper may include either direct quotations or indirect ones.
Regarding the direct quotes, you have to use word-for-word citations putting them in quotation marks. For instance, “I looked up from my desk and said, “No, you can’t have a cookie”. When you use the indirect quotes, you have to paraphrase the original message. As a result, you don’t need to put indirect quotes in quotations marks. For example, “I looked up from my desk and told him no, he couldn’t have a cookie”
You Should Never:
1. Put a block of quotes at the end of the paragraph;
2. Leave a quote standing alone;
3. Use a quote without acknowledging the source you have used in your writing.
Key Referencing Tips
1. Consult Your Style Guide.
You have you consult this document in order to get familiar will all the stylistic requirements for your written assignment.
2. Consistency and Clarity.
These two factors are the most important elements in referencing.
3. Judicious Citations.
Some students use a few citations in their papers while the others, in turn, cite everything they like. In this case, it is important to use the quotations as the evidence supporting your points.
4. Handling Unconventional Sources
Make sure that you know how to write references on assignment and to cite less conventional sources of information like audi0-visual materials or unpublished works.
5. Use Some Robot Helpers
Do not forget that you may use a number of software packages that include online citation generators.