How To Cite Sources In An Assignment
Last Fall, when Prof. Shore gave a class assignment on the marketing strategies of General Motors, Jeremy used Porter’s five forces model to analyze the company's sales growth in the last three quarters. His analysis was perfect. His facts were indubitable. Moreover, his argument was compelling. And yet he got an 'A' minus, whereas his closest rival Olivia got an 'A' plus on the same. Both Jeremy and Olivia had used Michael Porter's authoritative work as a guide, but Jeremy did not bother to cite him while making the point. It seemed as if it was his own idea. There is a simple way to avoid Jeremy's predicament. Cite everything you write. It is very important to know why we need to citation in the assignment.
Why Do We Need A Citation?
Citation is basically an acknowledgement of a source used in a project which may be either at the bottom as a footnote or may come at the very end of a written article or book as endnotes. It is essential no matter the student is a rank fresher or an expert in the field. Citation is the cornerstone of good academic writing. It distinguishes ethical writing from an unethical one and differentiates between original research and research-based on secondary sources.
Here are some examples of citing a source in a correct format:
- Give credit to the original author for their ideas and work.
- Validate your arguments
- Allow the reader to follow up on the original work.
- Let the reader see how dated the information can be
- Show your tutors that you have read about the topic.
- Mention the volume and page number for offline sources.
- Avoid plagiarism
Both students and higher academicians need to know how to write references in assignments? The practice of citation is crucial because they must take responsibility for what is rightfully theirs and what is not. More importantly, it can ruin their career and get them expelled. Remember Kavya Viswanathan's plagiarism scandal in 2006? She was a Harvard fresher whose novel "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life" was "inspired" by portions of Salman Rushdie and Meg Cabot's works. Kavya did acknowledge her sources of inspiration, but only after the scandal broke out. Had she admitted her originals in her book, her fate would have been different. All shelf copies were pulped, and her multi-million dollar second deal contract was cancelled.
Sample Question And Solution Of How To Cite Sources Assignment
MNG8100 Management Communication Assignments
Question:
Why and how should managers master the corporate communication function
Answer:
Introduction:
Communication plays a crucial role in the workplace, which is a key ingredient that enables the management to ensure that all the members of the company work towards achieving common organizational goals. Effective communication allows companies to share their vision with their stakeholders and build strong relationships with them (Wirth et al. 2016, pp. 53-60). It is a part of companies' corporate responsibility to ensure that they communicate with their stakeholders while taking business decisions. Read More...
3 Things To Remember For Citations
If students remember these three steps, they will never falter with assignment citations again.
1. Understand The Purpose Of Citation:
There are specific citation formats in assignments prepared by certain educational institutions, and they are accepted all over the English-speaking world. Following a citation format gives us a standard so that all academicians across the globe can easily follow the writing. For example, a teacher will immediately know the sources of information and how to write references in assignments?
2. Know Your Format:
Usually, we follow any of the four styles — Harvard Referencing Style, Chicago Manual Style, APA Style and MLA Style.
- Harvard Referencing Style
Here we follow an 'author/date system for 'in-text citations followed by a reference list at the end of the paper. For example, suppose the reference is Michel Foucault, History of Madness, Vintage Publications, New York 1961 then it should be written in the following manner:
“Foucault, 1997” for in-text citation followed by the “Michel Foucault, History of Madness, Vintage Publications, New York 1961” in the list of references.
- Chicago Style Referencing:
In this style, the author's names and the titles of the books and journal articles should come in the footnotes below each page. If you are citing a book, then italicize its name. On the other hand, if you mention the name of a journal article, then put the name within either single quotation marks or double quotation marks.
- APA Style Of Referencing:
This style also follows in-text citations and a reference list at the end of the essay. However, it is followed exclusively by science students, unlike MLA style, followed only by liberal arts and humanities students. In MLA style, we simply put the author's name followed by the page number within parenthesis. So if you are citing Michel Foucault, History of Madness, Vintage Publications, New York 1961, then simply write (Smith & Bruce p. 118).
3. Do Not Mix Up Your Styles:
It is a cardinal offence to mix up styles. It is a severe offence to mix up citation formats. Suppose if you are using Harvard citation format, then include the author's name and date within the main body of the text and never as a footnote. On the other hand, if you are going with the Chicago style, then use footnotes and bibliography and never in-text citations.
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Frequently Asked Questions By Students
Q:1. How Do You Cite A Source In An Assignment?
Answer: Follow these steps to add citations in an assignment:
- Collect the author name of the source.
- Note down the title and date of publication.
- Not down the place of publication and the publishing company.
- Mention the volume and page number for offline sources.
- Once you have all the required data about the reference, put it in the citation style mentioned in your bibliography.
Q: 2. How Do You Reference An Assignment In Harvard Style?
Answer: The Harvard referencing style uses the author-date system to create in-text citations. In an in-text citation, you will have to mention the authors' last name, the year of publication and the page number within round brackets and place the citation within the text. In addition, the entire source should be mentioned in the bibliography alongside the number mentioned in the in-text citation.
Q: 3. Can Your Writer Cite An Assignment In The APA Format?
Yes, the academic experts of MyAssignmenthelp.com are aware of the various citation styles as per their area of expertise and can provide you assistance on the same. Our trainers who have specialized in one of the branches of behavioural or social sciences know the differing APA format rules as per the source in question. You can also use the APA citation machine of MyAssignmenthelp.com to cite sources for free.
Q: 4. What Are The Ways Your Writers Use To Cite A Source In An Assignment?
Answer: Here are some of the steps that our trainers take while training you to ensure that they have guided you to each source correctly in an assignment:
- They enable you to note down the sources as and when you extract information.
- They make sure that you use the proper formatting guidelines as per the requirements.
- They use the in-house citation generator of MyAssignmenthelp.com to help you churn results instantly.