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ABOUT
WRITING: A
GUIDE
Revised Edition
ROBIN JEFFREY
OPEN OREGON EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
PORTLAND, ORE.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a
copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
This book was produced using Pressbooks.com, and PDF rendering was done by PrinceXML.
CONTENTS
PART I. COMPOSING
1.
Types of Writing Styles
3
2.
Understanding the Assignment
7
3.
Assessing the Writing Situation
9
4.
Test Your Thesis
10
5.
Constructing an Outline
11
6.
Checklist: Planning a Document
12
7.
Transitions
13
8.
Visuals Help You Communicate
14
PART II. ACADEMIC WRITING
9.
Active Reading
23
10.
Analyzing a Text
25
11.
Rhetorical Concepts
27
12.
Academic Writing: Point of View
30
13.
Academic Writing: Verb Tense
31
14.
How to: Write a Summary
32
15.
Countering Opposing Arguments
33
16.
Putting Inductive Reasoning to the Test
35
17.
Most Common Evidence Used by Authors
36
PART III. RESEARCHING
18.
Keyword Searching: Do it Better!
41
19.
Is this source scholarly?
42
20.
Evaluating Sources
43
21.
Evaluating Web Sources
44
22.
What Do You Need for a Citation?
46
23.
Avoiding Plagiarism
48
PART IV. MLA/APA/CMS
24.
What is MLA, APA, and CMS?
53
25.
MLA Signal Phrases
54
26.
MLA Citation Examples
56
27.
APA Signal Phrases
60
28.
APA Citation Examples
62
29.
CMS Signal Phrases
67
PART V. BASIC GRAMMAR
30.
Introducing…Subordinate Clauses!
71
PART VI. GRAMMATICAL SENTENCES
31.
Subject-Verb Agreement
75
32.
Should You Use –s (or –es) for a Present-Tense Verb?
77
33.
Is Your Sentence a Fragment?
79
34.
Is Your Sentence a Run-On?
81
35.
Does Your Sentence Have a Dangling Modifier?
83
PART VII. MULTILINGUAL WRITERS AND ESL
CHALLENGES
36.
Verb Forms: The Basics
87
37.
Verb Tenses: Active Voice
88
38.
Verb Tenses: Passive Voice
93
39.
The Meaning of Modals
97
40.
Nouns
101
41.
Articles for Common Nouns
105
42.
Non-count Nouns
107
43.
Geography and ‘The’
109
44.
How to Order Cumulative Adjectives
113
45.
Three Magic Words: At, On, and In
114
46.
Combo Time! – Adjectives & Prepositions
115
47.
Combo Time! – Verbs & Prepositions
117
PART VIII. REVISING
48.
A strategy for analyzing and revising a first draft
121
49.
Checklist: Revision
131
50.
How to: Be a Constructive Peer Reviewer
132
PART I.
COMPOSING
CHAPTER 1.
TYPES OF WRITING
STYLES
There are four main types of writing: expository, descriptive, persuasive, and
narrative. Each of these writing styles is used for a specific purpose. A single text
may include more than one writing style.
EXPOSITORY
Expository writing is one of the most common types of writing. When an author
writes in an expository style, all they are trying to do is explain a concept,
imparting information from themselves to a wider audience. Expository writing
does not include the author’s opinions, but focuses on accepted facts about a
topic, including statistics or other evidence.
Examples of Expository Writing
• Textbooks
• How-to articles
• Recipes
• News stories (not editorials or Op-Eds)
4
ABOUT WRITING: A GUIDE / TYPES OF WRITING STYLES
• Business, technical, or scientific writing
DESCRIPTIVE
Descriptive writing is often found in fiction, though it can make an appearance in
nonfiction as well (for example, memoirs, first-hand accounts of events, or travel
guides). When an author writes in a descriptive style, they are painting a picture
in words of a person, place, or thing for their audience. The author might
employ metaphor or other literary devices in order to describe the author’s
impressions via their five senses (what they hear, see, smell, taste, or touch). But
the author is not trying to convince the audience of anything or explain the scene
– merely describe things as they are.
Examples of Descriptive Writing
• Poetry
• Journal/diary writing
• Descriptions of Nature
• Fictional novels or plays
PERSUASIVE
Persuasive writing is the main style of writing you will use in academic papers.
When an author writes in a persuasive style, they are trying to convince the
audience of a position or belief. Persuasive writing contains the author’s opinions
and biases, as well as justifications and reasons given by the author as evidence of
TYPES OF WRITING STYLES / ABOUT WRITING: A GUIDE
5
the correctness of their position. Any “argumentative” essay you write in school
should be in the persuasive style of writing.
Examples of Persuasive Writing
• Cover letters
• Op-Eds and Editorial newspaper articles
• Reviews of items
• Letters of complaint
• Advertisements
• Letters of recommendation
NARRATIVE
Narrative writing is used in almost every longer piece of writing, whether fiction
or nonfiction. When an author writes in a narrative style, they are not just trying
to impart information, they are trying to construct and communicate a story,
complete with characters, conflict, and settings.
Examples of Narrative Writing
• Oral histories
• Novels/Novellas
• Poetry (especially epic sagas or poems)
• Short Stories
6
ABOUT WRITING: A GUIDE / TYPES OF WRITING STYLES
• Anecdotes
CHAPTER 2.
UNDERSTANDING THE
ASSIGNMENT
There are four kinds of analysis you need to do in order to fully understand
an assignment: determining the purpose of the assignment, understanding how
to answer an assignment’s questions, recognizing implied questions in the
assignment, and recognizing the disciplinary expectations of the assignment.
Always make sure you fully understand an assignment before you start
writing!
Determining the Purpose
The wording of an assignment should suggest its purpose. Any of the following
might be expected of you in a college writing assignment:
• Summarizing information
• Analyzing ideas and concepts
• Taking a position and defending it
• Combining ideas from several sources and creating your own original
argument.
Understanding How to Answer the Assignment
College writing assignments will ask you to answer a how or why question –
8
A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E / U N D E R S TA N D I N G T H E A S S I G N M E N T
questions that can’t be answered with just facts. For example, the question “What
are the names of the presidents of the US in the last twenty years?” needs only a
list of facts to be answered. The question “Who was the best president of the last
twenty years and why?” requires you to take a position and support that position
with evidence.
Sometimes, a list of prompts may appear with an assignment. Remember, your
instructor will not expect you to answer all of the questions listed. They are
simply offering you some ideas so that you can think of your own questions to
ask.
Recognizing Implied Questions
A prompt may not include a clear ‘how’ or ‘why’ question, though one is always
implied by the language of the prompt. For example:
“Discuss the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act on special education programs” is
asking you to write how the act has affected special education programs.
“Consider the recent rise of autism diagnoses” is asking you to write why the diagnoses
of autism are on the rise.
Recognizing Disciplinary Expectations
Depending on the discipline in which you are writing, different features and
formats of your writing may be expected. Always look closely at key terms and
vocabulary in the writing assignment, and be sure to note what type of evidence
and citations style your instructor expects.
CHAPTER 3.
ASSESSING THE
WRITING SITUATION
Before beginning the writing process, always establish the following:
• Is there an assigned topic or are you free to choose your own?
• What about your subject interests you?
• Why is your subject worth reading about?
• Double check that your subject is not too broad – narrow it down if necessary.
• Determine the purpose of the work.
• Determine the readers of the work and their level of knowledge about the
topic.
• Determine where your evidence will come from.
• Decide what kind of evidence would best serve your argument.
• Identify the required style (MLA, APA, etc.) of the paper.
• Be aware of length specifications.
• Consider if visuals might be helpful in your paper.
• Will someone be reviewing drafts of your paper? Who?
• Note your deadline and how much time you have for each stage of the writing
process.
CHAPTER 4.
TEST YOUR THESIS
You’ve come up with what you hope will be a great thesis for your paper. Want to
make sure before you get started with it? Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Does your thesis take a position, propose a solution, or answer a question?
2. Does your thesis give you enough material to write a full-length paper?
3. Can you come up with interpretations of your thesis that don’t match your
own?
4. Is there evidence to support your thesis?
5. Will readers want to read an essay with this thesis?
If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no,’ you need to revise your thesis.
CHAPTER 5.
CONSTRUCTING AN
OUTLINE
I. Put the thesis at the top.
A. Make items at the same level have the same grammar/tenses.
B. Use full sentences when possible.
1. Use the conventional system of numbering (such as the one being
demonstrated now).
2. Always include at least two items per level.
a. Use as few major sections (I., II., III., etc.) as possible.
b. If the list gets too long, try clustering the items into broader
categories with more subcategories.
CHAPTER 6.
CHECKLIST: PLANNING
A DOCUMENT
? Determine your document’s purpose.
? Plan your document’s design to support this purpose.
? Identify your document’s audience.
? Identify your audience’s expectations.
? Decide what format your document will require (include layout, margins, line
spacing, font styles, etc.).
? Decide whether or not visuals will be helpful to include in your document. If
you decide to use visuals, determine what kind of visual would be most useful.
CHAPTER 7.
TRANSITIONS
Addition
and, also, besides, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, next, too, first,
second
Examples
for example, for instance, to illustrate, in fact, specifically
Compare
also, similarly, likewise
Contrast
but, however, on the other hand, in contrast, nevertheless, still, even though, on
the contrary, yet, although
Summarize/
Conclude
in other words, in short, in conclusion, to sum up, therefore
Time
after, as, before, next, during, later, finally, meanwhile, since, then, when, while,
immediately
Place/Direction
above, below, beyond, farther on, nearby, opposite, close, to the left
Logical
Relationship
if, so, therefore, consequently, thus, as a result, for this reason, because, since
CHAPTER 8.
VISUALS HELP YOU
COMMUNICATE
PIE CHART
Pie charts are great for illustrating comparisons between a part and the whole.
Segments of the chart represent percentages of the whole.
“Apple pie charts: how bad #dataviz obscures iPhone 4S carbon
footprint” by Warren Pearce is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Line graph
Line graphs help you emphasize a particular trend over time.
V I S UA L S H E L P YO U C O M M U N I C AT E / A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E
15
“Increase in Textbook Prices” by David Ernst, Open Textbook Network
is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Bar graph
Bar graphs serve basically the same purpose as line graphs, emphasizing trends
over a particular period of time.
16
A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E / V I S UA L S H E L P YO U C O M M U N I C AT E
“Single Bar Graph” by Lauren Manning is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Table
Tables are a good way to visually organize complex numerical information,
especially if you have a lot of data.
V I S UA L S H E L P YO U C O M M U N I C AT E / A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E
17
“WeeklySchedule“. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia
Commons.
Photograph
Photographs depict people, situations, or ideas that might be discussed in your
text.
“Library” by CollegeDegrees360
is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Diagram
Diagrams are used most often in scientific or technical writing because of their
ability to convey complex processes and structures simply.
18
A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E / V I S UA L S H E L P YO U C O M M U N I C AT E
“Tugboat diagram” by Al2 with minor modifications by Lycaon – Own
work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.
Flowchart
Flowcharts are great for showing structure as well as steps in a linear process.
“Patent process” by Colleen Simon, opensource.com is licensed under
CC BY-SA 2.0
Map
Maps are the perfect choice for illustrating geographical distances,
demographics, or other data that is at least partially dependent on place.
V I S UA L S H E L P YO U C O M M U N I C AT E / A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E
“Map of USA OR” by Huebi is licensed
under CC BY-SA 3.0 / A derivative from
the original work
19
PART II.
ACADEMIC WRITING
CHAPTER 9.
ACTIVE READING
Start by getting familiar with the basic parts and structure of the text:
• What kind of text are you reading? An essay? A web site?
• Every author has a purpose; find it.
• Who is the audience and how does the author try to appeal to them?
• What argument is the author making/question does the text try to answer?
• What evidence does the author provide?
• Are there any key terms the author defines?
As you’re reading, make note of anything that especially catches your attention:
• Is there a fact or point that challenged your assumptions?
• Any surprises?
• Did the author make a point or argument that you disagree with?
• Are there any inconsistencies in the text?
• Does the text contain anything (words, phrases, ideas) that you don’t
understand?
After you’ve finished reading, read it again:
• Are there things you didn’t notice the first time reading the text?
24
A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E / AC T I V E R E A D I N G
• Does the text leave some questions open-ended?
• Imagine the author is sitting across from you: what would you ask them about
the text? Why?
If the text is visual in nature, try these extra tips:
• What first strikes you about the image?
• Who/what is the main subject of the visual?
• What colors/textures dominate the visual?
• What objects/people are in the background/foreground?
• Do words or numbers play any role in the visual?
• When was the visual created?
CHAPTER 10.
ANALYZING A TEXT
Written Texts
When you analyze an essay or article, consider these questions:
• What is the thesis or central idea of the text?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What questions does the author address?
• How does the author structure the text?
• What are the key parts of the text?
• How do the key parts of the text interrelate?
• How do the key parts of the text relate to the thesis?
• What does the author do to generate interest in the argument?
• How does the author convince the readers of their argument’s merit?
• What evidence is provided in support of the thesis?
• Is the evidence in the text convincing?
• Has the author anticipated opposing views and countered them?
• Is the author’s reasoning sound?
26
A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E / A N A LY Z I N G A T E X T
Visual Texts
When you analyze a piece of visual work, consider these questions:
• What confuses, surprises, or interests you about the image?
• In what medium is the visual?
• Where is the visual from?
• Who created the visual?
• For what purpose was the visual created?
• Identify any clues that suggest the visual’s intended audience.
• How does this image appeal to that audience?
• In the case of advertisements, what product is the visual selling?
• In the case of advertisements, is the visual selling an additional message or
idea?
• If words are included in the visual, how do they contribute to the meaning?
• Identify design elements – colors, shapes, perspective, and background – and
speculate how they help to convey the visual’s meaning or purpose.
CHAPTER 11.
RHETORICAL
CONCEPTS
During your time as a student of writing, you may hear instructors talk about
“rhetorical situations.” This is a term used to talk about any set of circumstances
in which one person is trying to change another person’s mind about something,
most often via text (like a book, or blog post, or journal article).
These rhetorical situations can be better understood by examining the
rhetorical concepts that they are built from. The philosopher Aristotle
called these concepts logos, ethos, pathos, telos, and kairos – also known as text,
author, audience, purposes, and setting.
TEXT (LOGOS)
Texts can come in all shapes and sizes, such as those listed earlier. But in this
context, text is not limited to something written down. The text in a rhetorical
situation could be a film, or a photograph, or a recording of a song or history.
The important thing to ask yourself when faced with a text, no matter what it
is, is what is gained by having the text composed in this format/genre. What are
the relevant characteristics of a book versus a song? What might an oral history
version of a text communicate that a book version would not?
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A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E / R H E TO R I C A L C O N C E P T S
AUTHOR (ETHOS)
Here the “author” of a text is the creator, the person utilizing communication to
try to effect a change in their audience. An author doesn’t have to be a single
person, or a person at all – an author could be an organization. To understand
the rhetorical situation of a text, examine the identity of the author and their
background. Not only do you want to know what kind of experience they have in
the subject, but you’ll also want to explore basic biographical information about
them. Where and when did they grow up? How could that affect
their perspective on the topic?
AUDIENCE (PATHOS)
The audience is any person or group who is the intended recipient of the text,
and also the person/people the text is trying to influence. To understand the
rhetorical situation of a text, examine who the intended audience is and what
their background may be. An audiences’ assumptions about the author, the
context in which they are receiving the text, their own demographic information
(age, gender, etc.) can all effect how the text is seeking to engage with them.
PURPOSES (TELOS)
What is the author hoping to achieve with the communication of this text? What
do they want from their audience? What does the audience want from the text
and what may they do once the text is communicated? Both author and audience
can have purpose and it’s important to understand what those might be in the
rhetorical situation of the text you are examining. An author may be trying to
inform, to convince, to define, to announce, or to activate, while an audience’s
purpose may be to receive notice, to quantify, to feel a sense of unity, to disprove,
to understand, or to criticize. Any and all of these purposes determine the ‘why’
behind the decisions both groups make.
R H E TO R I C A L C O N C E P T S / A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E
29
SETTING (KAIROS)
Nothing happens in a vacuum, and that includes the text you are trying to
understand. It was written in a specific time, context, and/or place, all of which
can affect the way the text communicates its message. To understand the
rhetorical situation of a text, examine the setting of both audience and author
and ask yourself if there was a particular occasion or event that prompted the
particular text at the particular time it was written.
CHAPTER 12.
ACADEMIC WRITING:
POINT OF VIEW
If you’re sitting down to write an analytical or research essay (common in the
humanities), use the third-person point of view: Achebe argues… or Carter
describes her experiences as…
Scientists (including social scientists) tend to use third-person point of view
as well, because they depend largely on quantitative research to present their
findings or support their opinions: The results indicated…
Occasionally, social scientists and writers in the humanities will use first
person to discuss their own experiences while doing research or if writing part
of a personal narrative as evidence: After spending a year living with the Upendi, I
came to the conclusion that… or Every Christmas we went to the same place, as if our
memories could be rekindled…
CHAPTER 13.
ACADEMIC WRITING:
VERB TENSE
Scholars of literature use the present tense to talk about a text: Humphrey’s
continual references to the color pink further emphasizes the imagery of the rose…
Scientists (including social scientists) use the past tense to talk about
experiments, and only use the present tense when discussing results of those
experiments: In 2013, Baker conducted the first of his experiments… His results are
interesting, if inconclusive.
History writers use present, or present perfect tense, to discuss their texts:
Shirley Macintyre writes in her diary that the fighting was fiercest on the ridge… or
Shirley Macintyre has written that the fighting was fiercest on the ridge…
CHAPTER 14.
HOW TO: WRITE A
SUMMARY
At the very beginning of your summary, mention the title of the text you are
summarizing, the name of the author, and the central point or argument of the
text. Always maintain a neutral tone and use the third-person point of view and
present tense (i.e. Tompkins asserts…). Keep the focus of the summary on the text,
not on what you think of it, and try to put as most of the summary as you can in
your own words. Present the text’s main points only and be concise! Every word
counts.
CHAPTER 15.
COUNTERING
OPPOSING
ARGUMENTS
Almost anything you can argue or claim in a paper can be refuted. Opposing
points of view and arguments exist in every debate, and it’s important to
anticipate possible objections to your arguments. In order to do that, ask yourself
the following questions:
• Could someone draw a different conclusion from the facts or examples you
present?
• Could a reader question any of your assumptions or claims?
• Could a reader offer a different explanation of an issue?
• Is there any evidence out there that could weaken your position?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, the next set of questions can help
you respond to these potential objections:
• Is it possible to concede the point of the opposition, but then challenge that
point’s importance/usefulness?
• Can you offer an explanation of why a reader should question a piece of
evidence or consider a different point of view?
34
A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E / C O U N T E R I N G O P P O S I N G A RG U M E N T S
• Can you explain how your position responds to any contradicting evidence?
• Can you put forward a different interpretation of evidence?
You can use signal phrases in your paper to alert readers that you’re about to
present an objection. It’s usually best to put this phrase at the beginning of a
paragraph such as:
• Researchers have challenged these claims with…
• Critics argue that this view…
• Some readers may point to…
CHAPTER 16.
PUTTING INDUCTIVE
REASONING TO THE
TEST
Inductive reasoning, a way of thinking that makes sense of things by making
specific observations and then drawing broad conclusions based on those
observations, is a great way to come to a probable conclusion. Ask three simple
questions of the evidence you’re using to back up your conclusion, and you can
see if your argument is supported by inductive reasoning.
1. Is the evidence sufficient?
2. Does the evidence reflect the characteristics of all the individuals involved?
3. Is the evidence relevant to your topic?
CHAPTER 17.
MOST COMMON
EVIDENCE USED BY
AUTHORS
Humanities: Literature, Art, Film, Music, Philosophy
• Critical essays that analyze other original works
• Details from an image, a film, or other work of art
• Passages from a musical composition
• Passages of text, including poetry
Humanities: History
• Primary Sources (photos, letters, maps, official documents, etc.)
• Other books or articles that interpret primary sources or other evidence.
Social Sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Political Science,
Anthropology
• Books or articles that interpret data and results from other people’s original
experiments or studies.
• Results from field research (including interviews, surveys, observations, etc.)
M O S T C O M M O N E V I D E N C E U S E D B Y AU T H O R S / A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E
• Data from their own experiments
• Statistics
Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Physics
• Data from their own experiments
• Books or articles that interpret data and results from other people’s original
experiments or studies.
37
PART III.
RESEARCHING
CHAPTER 18.
KEYWORD
SEARCHING: DO IT
BETTER!
What do you do if the results you want aren’t coming up when you keyword
search the web or a database? Here are a few helpful tips:
• Searching a phrase? Put it in quotation marks: “textbook affordability” will get
you results for that exact phrase.
• Searching for two terms that you think are topically related? Use AND (or +)
to connect them: education AND racism, or, education + racism, will only
bring up results that include both terms
• Searching for a term that’s commonly associated with a topic you don’t want
to learn about? Use NOT (or -) in front of the keyword you don’t want results
from: articles NOT magazines, or, articles – magazines, will bring up results
that are about articles, but exclude any results that also include the term
magazines.
• Want to get back as many results on a topic as possible? Use * at the end of a
word for any letters that might vary: smok*, will bring up results that include
the term smoke, smoking, and smokers.
CHAPTER 19.
IS THIS SOURCE
SCHOLARLY?
What is a ‘scholarly’ or ‘peer reviewed’ source? A scholarly source is any material
that has been produced by an expert in their field, reviewed by other experts
in that field, and published for an audience also highly involved in that field. A
source is scholarly if the following are true:
• The source is written with formal language and presented formally
• The author(s) of the source have an academic background (scientist,
professor, etc.).
• The source includes a bibliography documenting the works cited in the source
• The source includes original work and analysis, rather than just summary of
what’s already out there
• The source includes evidence from primary sources
• The source includes a description of the author(s) methods of research.
CHAPTER 20.
EVALUATING SOURCES
Bias
Do a background check on the author and publisher of the material. Do they
support a particular political or religious view that could be affecting their
objectivity in the piece? If they are associated with a special-interest group (i.e.
the American Library Association or Keep America Safe), this might also be an
indication of bias, unless alternative views are presented and addressed with
appropriate respect.
Assess the Argument
Identify the author’s main claim. What are they arguing is true or untrue? Pay
attention to what the author uses to support their claim – do you find relevant
evidence or just emotional examples? Statistics should be used consistently and
fairly, with an explanation of where they came from. Check for logical fallacies in
the author’s argument and make sure the author considers opposing viewpoints.
CHAPTER 21.
EVALUATING WEB
SOURCES
Author
Most reputable websites will list or cite an author, even though you might have to
dig into the site deeper than just the section you’re interested in to find it. Most
pages will have a home page or “About Us”/”About This Site” link where an author
will be credited.
Once you find the name of the author, see what else you can find out about
them, including their background in the area they are writing about. If these
author’s qualifications are not listed on the site itself, search on author sites or in
other sources.
Sponsorship
The sponsor of the site, the person or organization who is footing the bill, will
often be listed in the same place as the copyright date or author information.
If you can’t find an explicit listing for a sponsor, double check the URL: .com
indicates a commercial site, .edu an educational one, .org a nonprofit, .gov a
government sponsor, .mil a military sponsor, or .net a network of sponsors. The
end part of a URL may also tell you what country the website is coming from, such
as .uk for the United Kingdom or .de for Germany.
E VA L UAT I N G W E B S O U RC E S / A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E
45
Purpose
Determine why the site was created and who it was meant to inform. For
example, is it a website that was created to sell things, or a page hoping to
persuade voters to take a side on a particular issue?
Relevance
Depending on the information you are using, the currency of the site could be
vital. Check the bottom of the webpage for the date of publication or the date of
the latest update. Most of the links on the site should also still work – if they no
longer do, that may be a sign the site is too out of date to be useful.
CHAPTER 22.
WHAT DO YOU NEED
FOR A CITATION?
This is a general list of the information you might need to create a complete
citation. Depending on the citation style you are using, different information may
be required for each of these sources (see the section on MLA/APA/CMS for
more information on citation styles).
For Books
• Author(s)
• Editors/translators
• Edition (if not first)
• Name, date, and city of publication/publisher
For Articles
• Author(s)
• Title and Subtitle
• Name of source (magazine, journal, newspaper, etc.)
• Date of publication
• Volume, issue, and page numbers
W H AT D O YO U N E E D F O R A C I TAT I O N ? / A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E
If retrieved from a database, also…
• Name of database
• Name of subscription service
• URL of database
• DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
• Date source retrieved
For the Web
• Author(s)
• Editors/Creators
• Title of source
• Title of site
• Publication information
• Date of publication or latest update
• Site sponsor
• Date source accessed
• Source URL
47
CHAPTER 23.
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
This chart follows MLA style. For information on other styles see those sections (APA
and CMS).
Using something word-for-word from
another source?
Using something word-for-word from
another source but changing word forms
or adding words to improve clarity and
flow?
Paraphrasing or summarizing the
author’s ideas without using the author’s
exact words?
Using something from a source but
substituting in some synonyms?
Put quotation marks around the excerpt, use a signal
phrase, and include a parenthetical citation with the page
number:
McGuffin and Cross have said, “No one should ever eat
cake without frosting” (22).
Or
Cake, according to McGuffin and Cross, is one of those
foods that should never be eaten “without frosting” (22).
Put quotation marks around the excerpt, and put
brackets around the segments you have changed. Include
a signal phrase and a parenthetical citation with the page
number:
McGuffin and Cross seem to think that “…eat[ing] cake
without frosting” should never be allowed (22).
Use a signal phrase and include a parenthetical citation
with the page number:
According to McGuffin and Cross, cake is one of those
special foods that require an additive to be properly enjoyed,
like frosting (22).
DON’T. This is plagiarism, even if you use a signal phrase
and include a parenthetical citation.
AVO I D I N G P L AG I A R I S M / A B O U T W R I T I N G : A G U I D E
49
QUOTATIONS
1. All quoted material should be enclosed in quotations marks unless set off
from the rest of the text.
2. Quoted material should be accurate word-for-word. If anything was
changed, brackets or ellipsis marks should indicated where the changes/
omissions took place.
3. A clear signal phrase should alert your readers for each quotation and tell
them why the quotation is there.
4. A parenthetical citation should follow each quotation.
5. Each quotation must be put in context.
SUMMARIES (PARAPHRASING)
1. Any summaries of the text should not include plagiarized wording.
2. Summaries must be followed by parenthetical citations.
3. A signal phrase should let your readers know where the summarized
material begins as well as tell them why the summary is included in your
paper.
STATISTICS & FACTS
1. Any facts that are not common knowledge must have a parenthetical
citation included in your paper.
2. Use a signal phrase to help your reader understand why the facts are being
cited, unless it is clear enough without one.
PART IV.
MLA/APA/CMS
CHAPTER 24.
WHAT IS MLA, APA,
AND CMS?
MLA stands for Modern Language Association. It is a style of formatting
academic papers that is used mostly in the arts and humanities.
APA stands for American Psychological Association, the professional guild
who first developed the guidelines of the style. APA is a style of formatting
academic papers that is used mostly in the social sciences.
CMS stands for the Chicago Manual of Style. It is a style of formatting written
works that is most
