APA Citations and References – Test Your Knowledge

Check your level of understanding of APA formatting for references and in-text citations. First, review the APA Citations Helper document located in South University Library, and then answer the following questions. Try the exercise first and check the answers provided on the last page! When you have completed this assignment, save the document and submit your answers to the Module 4 Assignment (M4A2).

Question 1: (Helpful hint: Check out pg. 2 in the APA Citation Helper document – Understanding Citations and References)

When using APA style, you attribute words or ideas to their author by doing which two things?

a. 1) Include an in-text citation in the body of the paper. 2) Provide a reference for the source you are using on the References page of your paper.

b. 1) Call the author directly. 2) There is no second step.

c. 1) There is no need to give credit to the author of an article. 2) As long as I am not copying and pasting their exact words, I don’t need to include a reference.

Type your answer:

Question 2: (Helpful hint: Check out pg. 3, Creating APA-Style In-Text Citations in the APA Citation Helper document)

When creating an in-text citation, what two things are always included when the information is available?

a. 1) Title of book or article 2) Page where the information is found

b. 1) Publisher name 2) Publisher location

c. 1) Author’s last name 2) Year the work was published

Type your answer:

Question 3: (Helpful hint: Check out page 6 in the APA Citation Helper document for an example)

If you had the following information from a book, how would you put together a proper APA reference?

Author: Richard VanDeWeghe

Book title: Engaged Learning

Publisher: Corwin Press

Year published: 2009

Type Your Reference Below:

GO TO THE FOLLOWING PAGE FOR THE ANSWER KEY AND A DISCUSSION!

ANSWER KEY

Question 1:

a. 1) Include an in-text citation in the body of the paper. 2) Provide a reference for the source you are using on the References page of your paper.

a. In college-level writing it is important to give proper credit to the author(s) of the information that you are using in your papers or written responses. When you do not give credit, it can appear that you are plagiarizing which can result in loss of points on assignments.

1) The in-text citation appears in the body of your writing and provides a signal to the reader that you are influenced by the words, ideas, or facts presented by another author.

2) The in-text citation points to a more detailed reference included on the References page located at the end of your paper or document. This reference provides the necessary information for the reader to locate the resource.

Question 2:

c. 1) Author’s last name 2) Year the work was published

c. There are several ways to create in-text citations depending on how you write the words and ideas of another author in your paper. Whatever form your citation takes, you will want to include author, date, and sometimes place . This means, the author’s last name, the year the work was published, and in many instances the page, paragraph, or chapter where it can be found.

Question 3:

References

VanDeWeghe, R. (2009). Engaged learning. Corwin Press.

Useful tips: Don’t spell out the author’s first name, only use the initial followed by a period. The title of a book is italicized and only the first letter of the title is upper case.

If you missed any of the questions above, you are not alone! Some students have a lot of practice writing in APA style, and many have never even heard of it. The truth is, no matter how much previous experience you have, it is an important skill that you will learn and develop throughout your educational journey!

To learn more about APA, click on the APA Resources Lecture Note in the Orientation Course or talk with your academic counselor.

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Revised 9.22.2020