Where and how to use citations?

A Citation is a formal reference to an unpublished or published source where you gathered information while writing an academic paper. At this point, you should know it is nearly impossible to write your research paper yourself. You will definitely need to gather information from different sources. Therefore, citations are done to give credit to the source of information you used and to make the information easily accessible to anybody that wants to explore it.

To make life easier, we have come up with this article to discuss where and how to use citations in your research paper. You really need this knowledge if you want to avoid plagiarism. Let's explore more on this topic.

Choose your citation style

There are many ways you could cite your paper. However, this is subject to the instructor's choice or the assignment's directives. For example, let's say you're working on an assignment on student personal finance management , you are expected to use APA throughout your paper. This is because APA format is expected of you if you are in Psychology, Education, or Sciences. And as an APA paper writer, you should follow the required specifications in APA paper writing.

Where to use citation

There is no specific place to use citation in your research paper. However, it is best if used whenever you use an assertion or authoritative statement. You should cite immediately you use somebody else's fact or statement. It could also be between or before the sentence or phrase you want to cite.

However, don't hesitate to seek help if you think you need an APA paper writing service. You must ensure that you consult only credible and reliable platforms for your APA format paper writing service. You can review PapersOwl if you want the best APA format paper writing services. It is a smart decision you should consider to get the best out of your research paper.

The methods of citation

There are two main methods of citing referencing that are generally accepted. APA paper writing service must also adhere to these methods. They are as listed below:

⚡ The Numerals Method

This method is widely used in the arts and social sciences. It is not very popular with authors in the Sciences. The numeral(s) may be placed as a superscript on the word or simply enclosed in square brackets or parenthesis in front of it. Examples are as given below:

✔ ... the growth of wind waves can be calculated by aerodynamic principles if the wave shape is assumed and viscosity is neglected1.
✔ ... the national treasure is literally good for nothing2.
✔ ... A prime motivation for the search for cultural authenticity is as much political as it is for racial pride (3, 4).
✔ ... According to our own investigations [10], the hermaphroditic snail becomes sexually mature at 10-11 months of age. These confirm earlier observations from Smith [11].

⚡ Author-and-year Method

This method is particularly popular with authors in the sciences. In this method, citing is done with the surname of the author and the year of publication e.g., Edwin (1978). The citing could be located at the beginning, at the end, or any suitable place in-between the sentence. Some examples are given below:

✔ ... Machala (1976) states that flood frequency analysis is best conducted using the peaks-over-a-threshold method.
✔ ... More than 60% (Edwin and Smith, 2006) of Cold Briquetted Iron (CBI) can be used to replace the imported pig iron in existing copula furnaces.
✔ ... Structural analysis is the basics of Civil Engineering (Michael, 1997).

Wrapping Up

Writing citations is an easy task if you know what to do. However, we have simplified things in this article by giving you some tips on where and how to use citations correctly. We hope this information is useful to you beyond your academic days.