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Key Terms
Direct Quotation – using the author’s exact words. You must present this as a quote using double quotation marks and provide correct in-text referencing (author, year, page number). If direct quotes are used, it is advised to keep the number of quoted words below 10% of the total word limit.
Paraphrasing – using your own words to restate the author’s ideas. You must provide correct in-text referencing (author, year). Paraphrasing is the preferred method for incorporating source material and supporting evidence into an assessment as it better demonstrates your understanding of the content.
Summarising – a description of a publication’s main ideas. You must provide correct in-text referencing (author, year).
In-Text Citations
There are two ways of formatting an in-text citation in APA 7th Edition style: as a narrative citation and or a parenthetical citation.
Primary Sources
| Options | Quotation | Paraphrase |
|---|---|---|
| Narrative citation | Crystal (2003) states that “English is a global language” (p. 2). | Crystal (2003) argues that English is used worldwide. |
| Parenthetical citation | “English is a global language” (Crystal, 2003, p. 2). | English is used worldwide (Crystal, 2003). |
Secondary Sources
| Options | Quotation | Paraphrase |
|---|---|---|
| Author first | Crystal (2003) states that “English is a global language” (as cited in Hale & Basides (2013, p. 6) | Crystal (2003) argues that English is used worldwide (as cited in Hale & Basides, 2013). |
| Information first | “English is a global language” (Crystal, 2003, as cited in Hale & Basides, 2013, p. 6). | English is used worldwide (Crystal, 2003, as cited in Hale & Basides, 2013). |
Reference List
| Book with one author | Murphy, E. (2007). Essay writing made simple. Pearson Education. |
| Book with 2 authors | Hale, A., & Basides, H. (2013). The keys to academic English. Palgrave Macmillan. |
| Book with 3 or more authors | Boulton, A., Carter-Thomas, S., & Rowley-Jolivet, E. (2012). Corpus-informed research and learning in ESP: Issues and applications. John Benjamins. In-text: Boulton et al. (2012) or (Boulton et al., 2012) |
| Chapter in an edited book | Staggenborg, S. (2002). The “meso” in social movement research. In D. S. Meyer, N. Whittier, & B. Robnett (Eds.), (2002). Social movements: Identity, culture and the state (pp. 124-139). Oxford University Press. Cite the author of the chapter first (e.g. Staggenborg), not the editors. If the whole book is written by the same author, reference it as a book (see above). |
| Edition of book | Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. |
| Ebook with a DOI | Zhu, W., Lin, Y., & Cheng, S.K. (Eds.) (2018). Essence of traditional Chinese medicine. World Scientific. https://doi.org/10.1142/10962 |
| Ebook without a DOI | Race, D. (2002). Learning disability: A social approach. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com |
| Chapter in an edited ebook | Soriano-Ferrer, M., & Morte-Soriano, M. R. (2017). Developmental dyslexia in Spain. In C. S. Ryan (Ed.), Learning disabilities: An international perspective (pp. 45-60). https://www.intechopen.com/books/learning-disabilities-an-international-perspective Cite the authors of the chapter (e.g. Soriano-Ferrer & Morte-Soriano) first, not the editor. |
| Edition of ebook | Tarrow, S. G. (2011). Power in movement: Social movement and contentious politics (3rd ed.). https://ebookcentral.proquest.com |
| Non-English language books | Molinari, E., & Labella, A. (2007). Psicologia clinica: Dialoghi e confronti [Clinical psychology: Dialogue and confrontation]. Springer. An English translation of the title should be included in square brackets after the title in its original language. In the example above, this is: [Clinical psychology: Dialogue and confrontation]. Note: In-text referencing does not change from the standard Author, Date formatting. |
| Journal article with a DOI | Anderson, P. F., Wescom, E., & Carlos, R. C. (2016). Difficult doctors, difficult patients: building empathy. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 13(12), 1590-1598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2016.09.015 Note: The volume number is in italics, issue number in brackets but not in italics followed by page numbers of the article. |
| Journal article without a DOI | Travaline, J. M., Ruchinskas, R., & D'Alonzo, G. E., Jr. (2005). Patient-physician communication: Why and how. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 105(1), 13-18. |
| Non-English language journal articles | Guimard, P., & Florin, A. (2007). Les evaluations des enseignants en grande section de maternelle sont-elles predictives des difficultes de lecture au cours preparatoire? [Are teacher ratings in kindergarten predictive of reading difficulties in first grade?]. Approche Neuropsychologique des Apprentissages chez l'Enfant, 19, 5-17. http://doi.org/10.4000/rfp.4219 An English translation of the article title should be included in square brackets after the title in its original language. In the example above, this is: [Are teacher ratings in kindergarten predictive of reading difficulties in first grade?]. The name of the journal does not change from its original language. Note: In-text referencing does not change from the standard Author, Date formatting. |
| Article/entry from an online reference work | Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Plagiarism. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved January 18, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarism |
| Webpage | Chinese Medicine Board of Australia. (2014, March 17). Code of conduct. https://www.chinesemedicineboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines/Code-of-conduct.aspx Note: Include the month and day only for the reference list. For in-text referencing only include the year, for example: (Chinese Medicine Board of Australia, 2014) |
| Video file – YouTube | Monash University Library. (2014, November 23). A new nation goes to war [Video file]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/5D9MQ1KEU98 Note: Include the month and day only for the reference list. For in-text referencing only include the year, for example: (Monash University Library, 2014) |
| Ancient or classical texts | Plato. (1940). The republic (A. D. Lindsay, Trans.). J.M. Dent and Sons. (Original work published ca. 380 B.C.E.) In-text: (Plato, ca. 380 B.C.E/1940) or (Plato, ca. 380 B.C.E/1940, pp. 38-40) for a direct quote. When the original publication date of a republished work is known, add it in parentheses at the end of the reference list entry after the phrase 'Original work published...'. In the example above, this is: (Original work published ca. 380 B.C.E.) If the translator is known, their name should be included in parentheses after the title followed by the abbreviation 'Trans.'. In the example above, this is: (A. D. Lindsay, Trans.) Note: Ancient or classical texts can be cited as either a book or a webpage, depending on which version of the source you are using. Make sure to adjust your citation accordingly. |
For a more comprehensive guide, visit:
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA style. https://apastyle.apa.org
