Essay Reference: Getting Competent with this Tedious Task
Essay Referencing is Complicated for those who are Unaware of the Basic Rules.
Essay reference writing is an important aspect of presenting your academic work. You are expected to provide references for all the material your have quoted as well as the ideas and concepts you have borrowed from others. This is a tedious task and unless you are aware of the basic rules applicable, it can be a troublesome task as well. There are handbooks and websites dedicated to explaining the correct methods of referencing and we will only address the key guidelines you must apply in the process.
There are few key reference systems including, Harvard, MLA, APA, Chicago Turbian but the most commonly used ones are the Harvard and MLA (Modern Language Association) systems. The APA system is mostly used by science department while the humanities departments will prefer MLA system. An unseasoned essay writer may be confused as to what the differences are in these systems. The differences lie not in the manner of quoting but in the method of citing a text or a source.
Few essay tips to note in getting your referencing correct are these. First rule to follow is that when quoting an author, you have to put those quoted words exactly as it appears within quotation marks. You should not paraphrase it or rearrange, add or delete any words.
Another point to note is that when you are quoting more than four typed lines of text then you need to put it as a block quote and separate it from the rest of your text. Do not put quotation marks at the beginning and end of these block quotes. You need to leave a blank space before and after the block quote and indent the block from left margin. The in text citations goes normally at the end of the cited sentence but in some cases, if the text cited is within a sentence then the citation can be just after the cited words.
While direct quotations obviously needs citations, other ideas, data and concepts borrowed from other people and sources needs to be cited as well. Using credible and authentic sources in your referencing is very important to essay writing regardless of whether you are writing a history essay, a technology essay or a book review. Use of a mix of sources including text books, journals, internet sources etc. and make sure your reference list gives a balanced view of the topic than a one sided argument. Such comprehensive referencing adds value to your essay.
Essay Reference writing is somewhat of a lengthy subject and may need extended guidelines for handling the reference page or the works cited page where the details of all the cited sources are listed. Depending on the referencing system, the details and arrangement of these details within the reference line will differ. Hand books and many websites provide valuable guidelines on reference systems along with examples. Referring to these sources may enhance your essay reference writing skills further and make it a simple task.
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