- Review your instructions
- Develop your paragraphs/sections
- Conduct additional research
- Incorporate in-text citations/oral citations
- Avoid plagiarism
- Get help from the Writing Center
Introduction
Are you on schedule with your assignment? Remember, crafting your assignment can take as long as completing your research. Now, you will combine your research findings with your own ideas into a new creation.
Review your instructions
Review your professor’s instructions to identify the style of your paper, e.g., APA, MLA, or Chicago. These will tell you how to format your paper in your word processor (think title page and spacing).
Develop your paragraphs/sections
Most research assignments will have introduction, body, and conclusion sections. If you are having trouble writing your introduction, consider writing the body first.
Conduct additional research
As you write, you may find that you need to conduct more research to support your thesis statement. Ask a librarian for assistance with additional research.
Incorporate in-text citations/oral citations
In-text citations tell the reader that you found this information from somewhere else and where to find it in the reference list.
In speeches and presentations, you will need to give oral citations. Oral citations tell the audience where they can find the research you mention in your speech.
For slideshows, you will need to include in-text citations on the slides as well as oral citations in your spoken content.
In-text citations
In-text citations are located by the quotations and paraphrases from your sources in your assignment, as seen in the following examples:
Sentences with APA in-text citation
Dickens (1859/1999) opens the novel A Tale of Two Cities with the line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (p. 1).
The novel A Tale of Two Cities opens with the line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens,
1859/1999, p. 1).
Sentence with MLA in-text citation
Dickens opens the novel A Tale of Two Cities with the line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (1 ).
The novel A Tale of Two Cities opens with the line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens
1).
Sentence with Chicago in-text citation (author-date style)
Dickens opens the novel A Tale of Two Cities with the line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens, 1859,
1).
Sentence with Chicago in-text note (notes/bibliography style)
Dickens opens the novel A Tale of Two Cities with the line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”1
(bottom of page)
1 Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, (1859; reprint,Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Thrift Editions, 1999),1.
Follow the rules for in-text citations in the three major styles: APA, MLA, and Chicago. If you are unsure of how to format an in-text citation, consult the appropriate style guide. The APA, MLA, and Chicago style guides are all available to check out at the Information Desk on the first floor of Reese Library for two hours of use inside the Library.
Oral citations
Written citation formats just do not work for speeches. Can you imagine ever saying “parenthesis Rainie, Kiesler, Kang and Madden end parenthesis”? Here is a much less awkward way to cite your sources as you speak.
Avoid plagiarism
Making sure to use in-text citations is one way to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is passing someone else’s work as your own. However, plagiarism is often unintentional. Avoid plagiarism by learning what plagiarism is and how you can prevent it by watching the “Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism: Types of Plagiarism” video from the University of Guelph Library below and following the steps of writing proper quotations, summaries, and paraphrases from the Writing Center at Methodist University’s “Paraphrase, Summary, and Direct Quotation” handout.
Get help from the Writing Center
If you need assistance with writing your rough draft, contact the Augusta University Writing Center.