Using the Citation/Works Cited Function in Word

Transcription

1 Using the Citation/Works Cited Function in Word In English composition, students learn about citing references. We live in an age when copying (sharing) another s file without the creator s permission has become commonplace even though it is always a violation of U.S. copyright laws. Academics takes exception to the increasing common laxity of research for the intellectual work of others. In all universities, copying (sharing) another individual s work is plagiarism. The academic community does not stop there. Using another individual s original idea, without giving her/him credit, is also plagiarism. Most professors take the offense so seriously that they will flunk a student for an assignment or sometimes an entire semester if she/he plagiarizes. Students easily can avoid this problem by citing the sources that they use to write a paper or report. Citing sources, though, plays a far more important role than ensuring a student does not steal another person s work. Citing sources promotes credibility and intellectual curiosity: 1. Quoting an individual or a publication who or that has established credibility with the reader enhances the writer s credibility. 2. Most individuals labor in relative obscurity. By quoting the individual and giving her credit, you bestow a bit of honor on them. 3. Citing a source furthers the free-exchange of information, the cornerstone of liberal arts education for the past three centuries. In an atmosphere where writers give credit to creators, individual creators willingly share their ideas. 4. Finally and most important, the effective use of a Works Cited page has hastened the free exchange of ideas. Let s presume a student is researching a paper. She reads an article. At the article s end, she discovers a Works Cited page. She remembers a cited point. She finds the corresponding source on the Works Cited page. She looks it up. Now she has another source for her paper. More important, she may have found the source that helps pull together her own ideas. How does a student cite a source? That varies from university to university, but the most commonly used citation styles are MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association). (Students can access the details about these styles from the Purdue University s Owl website: MLA and APA. For SHU students, the spiral-bound A Writer s Resource: A Handbook for Writing and Research also explains both styles.). Professors, colleges within universities, or entire universities generally specify a preferable style. Students should study the fundamentals of the preferred style. They are not interchangeable. Using the in-text method of one style and the Works Cited of another only creates confusion for the reader. Once you understand the preferred method, you can then work effectively with Word's reference program, which will minimize your work when writing a paper. Let s assume that you have completed your research for a paper. You are writing. You quote an author. You need an in-text citation. To access the citation function in Word, click the References tab at the top of the screen. Your screen will look like the following:

2 Go to the third panel and find Style. Click the drop down menu. Select the preferred style. For this example, I will select APA Sixth Edition. Once you select the style, you will note that nothing changes on the screen. Now go to the Insert Citation icon and click it. You will see this:

3 Click Add New Source. You will need to fill in the blanks with author(s), title of the article you are quoting from the Website, name of the Website, the date information, and finally the URL (web address of the article you are quoting). You will need to fill out the form in the style required by MLA or APA. For the sake of this example, I will make

4 up a source with the following information: Author Name, How to Use Citation, CitationWeb, January 3, 2012, and the URL: Let s presume that I need an in-text citation for this sentence: Select the source and the in-text citation will appear. All I need to do is to click the arrow next to the Insert Citation icon and select the appropriate source, which is identified by author s name.

5 Select the source and the in-text citation will appear [Aut12]. You have finished writing your paper and you need a Works Cited page. Your work is done. Click the item called Bibliography. Select the format preferred. Most professors are looking for a Works Cited page since many sources no longer come from books, which is the implication of the word bibliography. Then your works cited will appear as it did for me. Works Cited Name, A. (2012, January 3). How to Use Citation. Retrieved from CitationWeb: Microsoft did not create a fail-safe system. Organizations, such as MLA and APA, do change their formatting styles. To use the program effectively, you must understand the fundamentals of the style that you are using. Do not guess at the requirements. For example, look at the above. In the new APA format, the title should appear as follows: How to use citation. The name of the website should be in italics: CitationWeb. Therefore, make sure that you understand the fundamentals of the preferred style and do not depend on Microsoft to provide perfect reference information. This advice applies to all reference sources, even those online.