Page 268 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

At the beginning of the chapter, you were given a list of the
information you will need to document your sources. Here,
we’ll explain more clearly how to use that information. To
document, or to cite, is to give credit where credit is due. That
is, you acknowledge where you got the facts, statistics, and
ideas you are integrating into your paper. The “credit” is called
a citation, and the in-text (in your paper) citation matches the
full bibliographic entry in the list of sources at the end of your
paper. Your instructor will tell you whether he or she prefers
that you use one of the major documentation systems: MLA
(Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological
Association), or the CMS (Chicago Manual of Style). You may
use MLA in a literature or other English class, APA in a sociology class, and CMS in a history class. If
your instructor does not have a preference, MLA is most often used for college essays. Each format has
its own handbook, or manual on exactly how to cite sources. While some of this information is available
online, the purchase of one or more of these handbooks is a wise investment. You will find them very useful
throughout your college career.

Whether you quote a passage from a source or paraphrase the idea in your own words, you need to give
credit to the author. As an example, we will look at a book on creativity by the famous modern dancer and
choreographer Twyla Tharp.If you were using this book as a source for a paper, this is what the documentation
at the end of your paper would look like in MLA and APA. Because CMS uses a system of endnotes titled
Cited References, each bibliographic reference is linked to a specific citation in your paper. It is difficult to
give an example without an accompanying essay. Please note that you can document virtually any source,
including Internet sources and interviews. The variety of sources and the complexity of documentation
rules are the best reasons to own a documentation handbook.

MLA: Book

Works Cited
Tharp, Twyla. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life. New York: Simon and Schuster
Paperbacks, 2003.

APA: Book

References
Tharp, T. (2003). The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life. New York: Simon and Schuster
Paperbacks.

The main differences are the use of an initial instead of an author’s first name in APA and the prominence
of the date in APA. This tells your reader immediately when your source was published, which is important
information in some fields. Using an initial instead of an author’s first name is also a feature of APA; any reader
who might tend to be biased against a man or a woman author, can only judge the piece on its own merits.

262 Foundations of Learning