APA Formatting

What is it? Why use it?

Content

Referencing a Publication or Media

     First and foremost, to reference a work, you must do it in two ways:

   - In-Text Citations: for things like quoted verses and published material.
   - Bibliographic Citations: your bibliography or references list.

In-Text Citation

     A typical In-Text Citation looks like this:
   - (Last-Name, F., 2006)

     This format shows the last name first, first name second, and finally the year date of the work, publication or media. This can have multiple creator names, but each way is dealt with based on the type of publication or media, and how many people were involved. When more than four different people work on any given piece (which is a writing, artwork, or other created work), the primary four names are used, and the citation is abbreviated with 'et. al.', which is like saying, "and everyone else" in Latin, except abbreviated, so you don't have to learn Latin. We will cover more details about this factor later in the page.

     For more on In-Text Citations, please see the online resource:
     http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c09_s1.html

Bibliographic Citation

     A typical Bibliographic Citation looks like this:
   - References:

   Last-Name, F., & Second-Author, N., (2006). Title of the Work in Question. From A Great and Wonderful Printing
      Press, Flint, MI, 48532.



     This is simple, basic, generalized and might even get you in trouble with an APA-oriented instructor if you use it in the wrong context or with the wrong type of media or publication.

Why do we Reference things?

     Which brings me to my major point in this class: Why do we reference things like this?

     BECAUSE if you didn't write that book, and you didn't make any of the artworks in it, and you post them on your house or wiki without even mentioning the website or URL (that means web address, kiddies) of the work, then you are stealing. It is on the legal books as PLAGIARISM. Please see Copyright and Intellectual Property for more on that, and I will stop ranting about it.





Links:
      APA Formatting
      Referencing a Publication
      Referencing an Artwork or Media Piece
      Referencing Web Material
      Other APA Citation Tips
      Wiki Fiction Roleplay
      http://www.writersco.com/