How to apply reference and citation in writing: Referencing involves documenting the sources used while writing an essay. Citation is a reference to the source of information used in your research. Any time you directly quote, paraphrase or summarize the essential elements of someone else’s idea in your work, an in-text citation should follow. As they are commonly used in writing and research, citation tells the readers where the information came from. In your writing, you cite or refer to the source of information. Reference gives the readers details about the source so that they have a good understanding of what kind of source it is and could find the source themselves if necessary. How does one go about referencing the materials he or she has cited or quoted in an essay? There are two major ways of referencing in an essay. These are
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The use of notes citations
The note citations are more commonly used in the fields of humanities, fine arts, history, philosophy, and religion. There are two types of note citations:
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- Footnotes – use superscript numbers in the text and related notes at the bottom of the page.
- Endnotes – use superscript numbers in the text and related notes at the end of the paper, article, or chapter.
Every note in the text needs a corresponding footnote or endnote. Follow your required style guide to determine how to cite each source and if you should use footnotes or endnotes.
Whether you use footnotes or endnotes, you will also need a bibliography that includes a list of all the sources used in your assignment.
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In-text referencing
In-text citations are the short citations you include in the written text that help a reader understand which sources you are quoting or referring to in your writing.
In the first instance – the use of notes – there are two ways of documenting the sources used. One could either use footnotes or endnotes. In either case, the use of notes involve the use of superscript numeric characters arranged serially from the beginning to the end of the essay (a paper or chapter in a book) each representing a material that has been consulted in the course of writing the essay starting from the first to the last.
Differences Between Footnote and Endnote
The difference between the footnote and the endnote has to do with the position where the cited materials represented by each serially arranged superscript are placed. In using the footnote referencing style, the references for the materials consulted in each page appears at the bottom or the foot of the page till the end of the entire essay.
Using footnotes or endnotes involves placing a superscript number at the end of a sentence with information (paraphrase, quotation or data) that you wish to cite. The superscript numbers should generally be placed at the end of the sentence to which they refer. They should be placed after any punctuation marks except for the dash.
Footnotes/endnotes begin with 1 and are numbered consecutively throughout the entire essay. You can use MS Word or other software to create footnotes and endnotes.
The format for a footnote or endnote varies depending on whether it refers to a book, article, or online source. There are some key characteristics common to all footnotes and endnotes:
- The footnote/endnote begins with the same superscript number as the one that appears in the paper and is followed by a period.
- Footnotes/endnotes always include a specific page number or numbers where the cited information can be found.
- The first footnote/endnote to a source provides the full publishing information.
While typing with Microsoft word application, this can easily be done using the Ctrl+Alt+F keys.
How to Apply Reference and Citation in Writing
The same method has been employed through the pages of this study series. But for the endnotes, the references for the materials consulted are collated at the end of the entire document, under the heading “Endnotes”, serially arranged with each serial number corresponding to the superscript serially arranged in the document. When typing with Microsoft word application, one can simply create an “Endnote in a document by using the Ctrl+Alt+D keys.
While creating the references either at the bottom of the page or at the end of the document, some rules are followed. There is no generally accepted method of doing this. It varies among, institutions, academic association, and journals. Each of these bodies tries to find a way to add a unique touch to the referencing style to make theirs different from others. However, The procedure on how to apply reference and citation in writing is generally follows the formats below:
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Referencing a book
The formats start with Author’s first and last name, Book Title (Publishing Place: Publisher, Year), page(s) cited.
Referencing a chapter in an edited book: The formats start with Chapter author’s first and last names, Chapter Title. In Book Editors first and last names (Ed., or Eds. If more than one editor), Book Title (Publishing Place: Publisher, Year), page(s) cited.
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Referencing a journal article
Citing Journal Articles. The basic format for an article from a journal requires the author’s name, Article author’s name, Article Title. Journal Title, Volume-Number (Year): page(s) cited, and issue number, and inclusive page numbers.
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Referencing an internet source
Article/Book author’s name, Article/Book Title. Retrieved on (write the date from Site) Name. Available at: Webpage address
When an already cited material is been cited again in the same documents, essay or chapter, there is no need repeating the entire details of the material. What is needed at that point is simply the author’s name, the title of the material followed by the page(s) cited. The page cited is always represented with a “p.” for a single page and “pp.” for citations that cuts across pages.
On the other hand, in-text referencing style involves the direct placement of the cited material at the beginning or the end of the part of the essay being referenced. This is done by simply stating the author’s name, year of publication and/or page(s) cited of the material referenced. There is no fixed way of doing this. The in-text referencing style can appear in any of the following manner in the example below:
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- Quine (1992, p. 20), in his naturalised epistemology goes beyond traditional accounts of epistemic
- Quine (1992: 20), in his naturalised epistemology goes beyond traditional accounts of epistemic
- Quine (1992), in his naturalised epistemology goes beyond traditional accounts of epistemic
- Quine, in his naturalised epistemology goes beyond traditional accounts of epistemic justification (Quine, 1992, p.20).
- Quine, in his naturalised epistemology goes beyond traditional accounts of epistemic justification (Quine, 1992:20).
- Quine, in his naturalised epistemology goes beyond traditional accounts of epistemic justification (Quine,1992).
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Referencing a journal article
The formats start with Article author’s last name, first name or Initials, Publication Year, Article Title. Journal Title, Volume-Number: page range
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Referencing an internet source
The formats start with Article/Book author’s last name, first name, Publication Year (or ND meaning No Date if publication year is not available), Article/Book Title. Retrieved on (write the date from Site Name. Available at: Webpage address).
It is also important to note that notes referencing style can also be used side-by-side with the in- text referencing style. When writing an essay, there could be information that the writer may feel is useful for the reader to grasp the thoughts better but cannot readily fit within the essay itself to avoid clumsiness and prevent the primary line of thought from being distorted.
Such points or information can be brought to the bottom of the page as footnotes or at the end of the document as endnotes using superscript numbering. In this way the information is preserved in the essay but not in a way that will distort the basic argument and line of thought. Once a researcher is familiar with these basic referencing tips, he or she can present his ideas and their evidences clearly and neatly.
