Writing a report in you own words shows that you understand the concepts you are writing about.

Quotations should be used to illustrate a point that you are making. Do not let quotations make your point for you. If you do, you are not writing the paper, the person quoted is.

Quotations are to illustrate a point or provide evidence for a statement.

I write Ninety percent of minimum wage earners in Alberta are women with no attribution. Is it OK to do this? 1) The figure could be wrong. 2) How do you know I’m not just making it up? 3) Search “women minimum wage Alberta” on Google.

I write “Women accounted for almost two-thirds of minimum wage workers, but less than half of all employees.” with no attribution. What is wrong with this? I am quoting a website without giving credit. This is plagiarism.

Go to the Portage College Library websitePortage College Library website Look for “Write a Paper” See ALA and MLA style guides See Knight Cite

APA Style APA style was developed by social and behavioural scientist to standardize scientific writing. See Basics of APA Style Tutorial at bottom of APA Style page on the Portage College Library website.APA Style page

Font styles Times New Roman (serif typeface) for text Arial (sans serif typeface) for figure labels

Formatting Double-space the entire manuscript. Double-space between lines of body text and titles, heading and block quotations. Double-space the reference list and figure captions. Indent the first line of every paragraph one-half inch. Align the text to the left-hand margin, leaving a “ragged” right margin.

When you submit the manuscript, number the pages consecutively starting with page 1. Put the pages in the following order: Page 1, Title page Page 2, Abstract Page 3, Beginning of text References begin on a new page after the last page of text. Each table begins on a new page. Tables show numerical or textual information. Each figure begins on a new page. Include the figure caption on the same page as the figure. (non-textual). Each appendix begins on a new page.

Citing references in text Cite the work of those individuals whose ideas, theories or findings have directly influenced your work, even if you are paraphrasing or describing someone else’s idea. If I write “Midodrine can cause a marked elevation in supine arterial blood pressure” I must cite the source of that information.

To avoid plagiarism and make your life easier, take careful notes as you research to keep track of all sources and collect the information you need to cite them properly.

Citing references in text APA style uses the author-date citation system. This system allows readers to find the sources cited in text in the reference list, where each source is listed alphabetically. In text, this can look like this: (Smith, 2013). If quoting, use (Smith, 2013, p.42).

Citing references in text If a document uses paragraph numbers, cite them using the abbreviation para. If the document includes headings and no paragraph numbers, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph following it.

Citing references in text Here are some examples of author-date citation when paraphrasing. Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological samples... Early onset results in a more persistent or severe course (Kessler, 2003). In 2003, Kessler’s study of epidemiological samples showed that...

The Reference List The purpose of a reference list is to help readers find the sources you used. Therefore, the reference list should be as accurate and complete as possible. All citations should be used in the reference list with the exception of personal communications and classical works. Put references in order of the author’s surname, or the first author’s surname if there is more than one author.

The Reference List Use the hanging indent paragraph style. Double-space the entire reference list. View specific reference examples

The Reference List References contain the following components: Author name or names, publication date, title of the work, and publication data.

The Reference List When you are citing a source you found on the web or in an electronic database follow these general guidelines: Include journal volume number and inclusive page numbers if this information is available. Type or use the copy-paste function of your word processor to capture the article DOI and place it at the end of the reference. If there is no DOI, cite the home page URL or database name.

Using Citation Generators Knight Cite: On Library website, find Knight Cite under Write a Paper.