Werewolves! Zombies! Vampires! Citations! So many writers find those four equally frightening. After all, where’s the logic with any of them?!? Especially with citations!?! Why does one class ask you to use APA while a different class asks for MLA? Or CMS? Or CSE? It can feel like an arbitrary nightmare, where you’re typing away, trying to escape the seemingly inconsistent madness of whatever citation system you’ve been asked to use. At the HUB, we can’t deliver you from those first three horrors, but we’ve got you covered when it comes to citations. Because we get it! We know how tough it can be to figure out what to use when. Luckily, we’ve got some important tips to share so you can better battle those baffling citation beasts. Most importantly, we want you to know that there’s some logic to why some classes use one system and others use another. Because there is some logic there. Specifically, the information a particular citation system asks you to include highlights what is valued and expected in a particular field. Take APA. Notice how you include the date with an in-text citation? Here’s an example of that: (Kruger, 2019). Dates are important because disciplines that use APA -- think Psychology, Communication, Education, and others -- want to make sure readers see how current their information is or how many sources across several years have similar findings. That’s different from MLA, which doesn’t ask for the date with in-text citations. Check out this example: (Kruger 75). There you’ve got the author’s last name and the page number where the quote or idea can be found. MLA-using disciplines such as English Literature, Foreign Languages, and Comparative Literature value direct quotes and the language of particular authors. They don’t mention the time period in those citations because they’re not usually very concerned about how contemporary a source is. After all, if you’re analyzing Shakespeare’s language, it doesn’t necessarily matter that Shakespeare has been dead for a long, long time. So now that we’ve piqued your interest, check out our short video about citation methods -- and their logic. That way you won’t need to stay up at night, fearing what citation system you might be faced with next. And remember, if you’re feeling like you could use some more help with this, make an appointment with a HUB writing partner! You can check out more details about how the HUB can help you here. Lastly, if you want to dive a bit deeper into this, check out how many other citation systems there are. And, yes, we warned you! About The HUB Writing Center:
The HUB is a free resource for all SCU writers. We work with students, faculty, and staff during any stage of the writing process. Writers can come in with something -- or a lot -- written, or they can also come in when they’ve just started brainstorming about a project. Whatever stage you’re writing is at, the HUB can help!
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