Appendix: Reference Handbook

449

Part A. Documenting Your Sources

Note Taking

APA Style

TUTORIAL: How To Cite a Website in APA Style

TUTORIAL: How To Cite a Database in APA Style

IEEE Style

MLA Style

TUTORIAL: How To Cite a Book in MLA Style

TUTORIAL: How To Cite an Article in MLA Style

TUTORIAL: How To Cite a Website in MLA Style

TUTORIAL: How To Cite a Database in MLA Style

Part B. Editing and Proofreading Your Documents

Punctuation

Mechanics

Proofreading Symbols and Their Meanings

Part A: Documenting Your Sources

450

Documentation identifies the sources of the ideas and the quotations in your document. Documentation consists of the citations in the text throughout your document and the reference list (or list of works cited) at the end of your document. Documentation serves three basic functions:

It helps you acknowledge your debt to your sources. Complete and accurate documentation is a professional obligation, a matter of ethics. Failure to document a source, whether intentional or unintentional, is plagiarism. At most colleges and universities, plagiarism can mean automatic failure of the course and, in some instances, suspension or expulsion. In many companies, it is grounds for immediate dismissal.
It helps you establish credibility. Effective documentation helps you place your document within the general context of continuing research and helps you define it as a responsible contribution to knowledge in the field. Knowing how to use existing research is one mark of a professional.
It helps your readers find your source in case they want to read more about a particular subject.

Three kinds of material should always be documented:

Any quotation from a written source or an interview, even if it is only a few words
A paraphrased idea, concept, or opinion gathered from your reading
Any graphic from a written or an electronic source

For more about using graphics from other sources, see “Understanding the Process of Creating Graphics” in Ch. 8.

Just as organizations have their own rules for formatting and punctuation, many organizations also have their own documentation styles. For documents prepared in the workplace, find out your organization’s style and abide by it. Check with your instructor to see which documentation system to use in the documents you write for class. The documentation systems included in this section of the appendix are based on the following style manuals:

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, DC: APA.
IEEE editorial style manual [PDF]. (2014). Piscataway, NJ: IEEE.
MLA handbook (8th ed.). (2016). New York: Modern Language Association.