Monday 26 March 2012

Sunday March 25, 2012 The Joys of Referencing

Any high school or university student will tell you that proper referencing is imperative to a good quality essay. Although it may seem like a nuisance, referencing has its purpose and use. Proper referencing is a set of rules used by students to effectively organize the content of their paper, as well as provide credit due to any sources that may have been used.

Professors and instructors dedicate a portion of the final grade to the use of the proper referencing format. Professors want to be able to assess whether the student is able to correctly conduct research as well as cite sources from where the information has come from. Flawless citation shows good workmanship as well as a thorough understanding of the world of academia.
A professional responsibility of any university student is academic honesty and credibility.

Penalties for plagiarism (or academic dishonestly) can vary depending on the severity of the offense. Consequences can range from a mark of zero, failure of the class, or even expulsion from the school. The reasoning behind such severe punishments is that a university does not wish to gain a tainted reputation, one where cheating is tolerated.

Therefore, it is important to familiarize yourself with the style that is used in your field before tackling your first big essay. As a student, it is your responsibility to find out what the appropriate method is and how it is done correctly. (On a side note, profs do not take away lecture time to instruct their students how to properly cite their assignments). Some common styles of citation are the American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association of American (MLA) and the Chicago Manual of Style.

To begin, the APA style is used generally in the areas of science, health science, and social sciences. One of the hallmarks of the APA style is parenthetical referencing, which is an incomplete citation enclosed with parentheses used in your text. The APA prefers the author-date-page format, one where you cite your author, the date of publication, and then the page number. For example, (Smith, 2005, p. 15).

MLA, on the other hand is often used in the arts and humanities. As an English major, by the end of your student career, you are sure to become an MLA expert. MLA follows a different guideline as opposed to APA and so is their use of parenthetical referencing. MLA is known for its use of the author-page method, where you cite the author’s name and the page the information was found on.

Lastly, Chicago style is widely seen used in business, economics and history. Chicago style differs from APA and MLA primarily in its use of the ‘Notes and Bibliography’ NB format. This methodology allows the writer to cite their sources through footnotes, among the text and in a bibliography page. In addition, NB gives the writer the opportunity to comment on the sources used in their document, much like a critique.

Of course, as for any new student this may sound a bit overwhelming and the stress of entering post-secondary education is understandable. Thunder Bay Public Library (TBPL) gets your pain. If you find yourself struggling with your assignment’s referencing, come down to TBPL where you are sure to find a friendly hand. The Waverley and Brodie Resource Library have separate reference departments where referencing and citation is their business. The knowledgeable reference librarians and technicians can help you solve your citation woes, any time. Happy referencing!

Petar Vidjen

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