Discussion: American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is a scientific and professional body representing psychologists in the US. The body’s members include students, educators, clinicians, consultants, and scientists. The American Psychological Association has developed writing guidelines that guide scholars and students in their research papers and essays presentation. The writing style is acknowledged, upheld, and used by editors, researchers, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, nursing, natural sciences, communication, and business, among other fields (APA.org, n.d.). This discussion presents three things to remember about in-text citations and references while writing using the American Psychological Association style. Discussion: American Psychological Association
The APA writing style has guidelines for citations and references to ensure that writers avoid plagiarism. Acknowledging another writer’s work is a way of preventing plagiarism and exercising ethical behavior in writing (Fazilatfar, Elhambaksh, & Allami, 2018). Acknowledgment of other sources used in writing is done through in-text citations and referencing. There are various essential things to remember when in-text citing and referencing. When writing in-text citations, you should remember to paraphrase the source correctly, how to quote the author(s), and how to cite sources with no dates or authors.
Paraphrasing means restating another person’s idea in your own words. Paraphrasing allows the writer to synthesize and summarize information from other sources, focusing on the most relevant part and how it contributes to your work. Paraphrasing information from a source is better than just directly quoting it. When paraphrasing, the original work should be cited in a narrative or parenthetical citation format (APA.org, n.d.).
It is essential to remember how to quote an author or author. In-text citations in APA include the author(s) and the date, quoted in round brackets. The surname of the author(s) is used. The quote can have up to three authors, but when the source has more authors, only the first author’s surname is used, followed by an et al. to represent the others. The page or paragraph number should be included in the brackets if you quote directly from a source. When multiple sources are used in one parenthesis, the sources should be cited in one bracket, arranged in alphabetical order, and separated by semicolons. Discussion: American Psychological Association
There are informative sources such as government websites and articles that may not have indicated the author or date of publication. When citing these sources, the source with an author but no year of publication is represented with the author’s name, and an n.d. to show the year of publication is not indicated. A source without an author is presented by the title of the source, for example, the title/name of a website and the year of publication. If a source lacks both the author and the date, it can still be cited using the source’s name/title and n.d. in brackets.
The three most essential items to remember when formatting references in APA style are the elements of the reference list entries, sources included in the list, and the basic formatting principles of writing the reference list (APA.org, n.d.). The fundamental elements in the reference list entry include the authors’ name, the year of publication, the title, publisher, edition, and the permalink. However, journal entries should consist of the volume and the issue number. All sources cited in the text should be listed in the reference list, except personal communication. The primary reference list formatting principles that should be remembered while writing in APA include starting the list on a new page, putting the title in the center, arranging the entries in alphabetical order, and using double space.
The APA writing style ensures solid and orderly academic writing. It encourages writers to acknowledge the contribution of other sources in their writing and avoid plagiarism. The six things discussed above should be considered when writing in-text citations and references. Discussion: American Psychological Association
References
The American Psychological Association (n.d.) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition. Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/products/publication-manual-7th-edition
Fazilatfar, A. M., Elhambakhsh, S. E., & Allami, H. (2018). An investigation of the effects of citation instruction to avoid plagiarism in EFL academic writing assignments. Sage Open, 8(2), 2158244018769958. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2158244018769958 Discussion: American Psychological Association
