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The MLA Bibliography Format

October 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Aside from the APA format, one of the most commonly used bibliography style is the MLA Bibliography format. This bibliography style was based on the MLA Style manual first published by the Modern Language of America in 1985. The rules and guidelines of the MLA Bibliography format differs a lot compared to the APA style. For years, this bibliography format has been the standard guide used by students, professional writers and researchers for their scholarly works. Many educational institutions have also adopted this style in listing references and sources.

Here are the basic rules and guidelines specified by the MLA style manual for the MLA bibliography format.


1. The spacing between each text should be double-spaced.

2. In MLA style, the name of the publications should be written in Italics, however, if you are using a typewriter or by hand the name of the publications must be underlined since there is no way that you can italicized words using a typewriter.

3. Use a new page separate from the text for your list of sources with the centered title. List all the entries alphabetically based upon the last name of the authors. However, if there was no author’s name you still list them alphabetically by its title ignoring the articles The, A, and An.

4. Abbreviate the names of the months in the list of sources excluding the months of May, June and July but spell out all of them when use in the main text of the paper. Be consistent on the format of the date you used which can be either month-day-year style (July 22, 1999) or day-month-year style (22 July 1999). If you used the month-day-year style just make sure that you add a comma right after the year not unless there was a punctuation mark in it.


5. A hanging indent was used for any MLA citations which mean the first line of very entry must me flush left while the next lines will be indented ½”.

MLA Bibliography Format

6. The MLA style manual emphasizes the use of title case capitalization. The first, the second and all the principal words should be capitalized including also the words that follow hyphens in compound terms. Except from the words of designation that follows a period, lowercase abbreviations should be used in identifying the parts of the work such as the word editor and volume.

7. The author’s name, book title, and the information about the publication should be separated using a period followed by one space. To separate the subtitles from the title use a colon and a space.

For more information about the MLA Bibliography Format, try to get a copy of MLA Handbook for writers of research papers or search the Internet for related links and websites.

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APA Format Example, Tips and Guidelines

October 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Many student and professional researchers today rely entirely on the various APA Format Example, tips and guidelines provided in the Internet for their research works written in APA style. The APA which stands for American Psychological Association is the most commonly used formatting style in different areas of discipline such as psychology, education and other social sciences. The APA format which is a set of conventions provides a general standard format in terms of pagination, margins, in-text citation, reference list and many other aspects of research works and other scholarly manuscripts.

Originated in an article published in 1929, the APA format laid out the basic rules in writing research papers in the field of social sciences. As time goes by, this formatting style was adapted by various disciplines outside psychology. Most educational institutions and journal editors required the students and writers to format their works using this formatting style.


At first, students and researchers alike find it difficult to format their research papers and journals using the APA format. However, learning this skill is very useful in doing research works and other scholarly manuscripts. There are a lot of APA format example and guidelines found in the Internet today which they can use as reference for APA format research papers.APA Format Example

Here are some helpful tips, basic guidelines and APA format example for student researchers.

1. The title page of your research work in APA should include a running head, title, the name of the author and the school affiliation.

2. Follows your title page is a short summary of your research paper called the abstract. Based on the APA guidelines, the abstract should contain at least 150-250 words in total. However, this can vary depending on the specific requirements of your instructor or the publication where you will submit the paper.

3. When it comes to in-text citations in APA format, you should use the name of the author followed by the publication date. Other information about the source should be place in the reference section.

4. The reference page in APA format must start on a new page labeling it as “References” and make it center at the top of the page.

5. Entries must be in alphabetical order and flush left the first line of a reference. Indent using the tab key each of the additional line.

6. Based on the new sixth-edition of the APA style manual, the required space between each sentence must be double space same also with the reference section.

7. All the sources that you have cited must appear both on the reference section and on the in-text. Make sure that all the references that appeared in the body of your report should also be found on the reference section and vice versa.

8. Book titles, magazines, newspapers and journals must be italicized.

The APA format may appear to be as quite complicated but if you learn and master yourself the basic rules and guidelines of this formatting style then it will be much easier for you. For more APA format example, tips and guidelines you can search online using specific keywords and phrases.

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The APA Citation Machine

October 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The APA Citation Machine is one of the online interactive tools designed specifically to help students and professional researchers alike on the proper crediting and citation of the sources and references they used in their manuscripts. The primary goal of this citation machine is to make the task of information sources citation very easy to student researchers especially for those who are not well acquainted with the APA format style.

In every research work written in APA format, it is very important to properly cite the authors and their respective works that the student researchers mentioned or included in their scholarly manuscripts. It has been considered a standard procedure to give due recognition and acknowledgement to the authors of the books and other material that the researchers used in his research studies. However, for most students they find this task quite difficult and tedious knowing that they lack adequate knowledge about the APA format style of writing research papers.


With the advent of modern writing tools and software such as the APA Citation machine, this particular task of citing sources in APA format style became very easy, quick  and less tedious. However, it is still very important to have a solid understanding on the proper citation of sources in APA format. But if you opt to use this online citation builder just make sure that you double check the reference data and other necessary information for the accuracy of the citations and to avoid any typographical errors.APA Citation Machine

Here is the short list of some websites that offer both free and paid APA Citation Machine services.

1. KnightCite – this type of APA Citation Machine is being use specifically to create book citations in APA format. The KnightCite originates from the Hekman Library at Calvin College. In using this citation machine, you have to make sure that you have selected from the menu of the Citation styles the APA format option and fill up all the necessary information accurately from the required fields before hitting the submit button.

2. APA Citation Wizards – this type of citation machine is used to create citations for online books, web pages and other online journals. The APA format manual is very dynamic that is why this tool use for the citations of web pages and online books was updated regularly.

3. Landmark Citation Machine – this tool used in creating references in various formats and that includes the APA format is very easy and simple to use. All you have to do is to select what format you will use and the type of sources you want to cite. After you have correctly filled in all the required fields then you may hit the submit button.

These citation machines are just some of the interactive tools available online that student researcher may come across with. Just take not that some of this APA citation machine is still in the process of updating to new APA format manual.

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The APA Bibliography Format

October 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A research paper or any scholarly documents formatted in APA style must have a correct and proper APA Bibliography Format following the set of rules and guidelines provided in APA format manual. Defined as the alphabetical list of all the sources that the researcher used in his work, the Bibliography is an important component of any research paper for two important reasons.

First, it gives the reader the chance to verify the accuracy and veracity of the data and information that the researcher included in his paper. In addition, the readers could find additional information from the sources listed in the research paper. Secondly, through the APA Bibliography format the ideas and theories of other authors were acknowledged and at the same time you spared yourself from the issue of plagiarism.

APA Bibliography Format

For the proper compilation and documentation of your sources, follow these steps of APA Bibliography Format.

1. For the bibliography section or reference list, use a separate page apart from the text. Take note that your bibliography is not the same with the reference list since these two are different from each other. Decide which of them you will use in your paper. The reference list is different from the bibliography since the latter includes all the sources and references that the researcher cited in his manuscript. While the bibliography contains all the sources that have been discarded due to irrelevance or outdated.

2. List your sources alphabetically based on the last name of the author. According to the latest edition of APA format manual, you can list up to 7 author’s name while more than that you can list the first 6 to be followed by a period, a comma or am ellipsis and then the name of the author.

3. To list a source, write the last name of the author and first initials using a comma to separate the initials and the name and a period right after the initials.

4. List the publication date inside a parenthesis right after the name of the author with a period after the closing parenthesis.

5. When listing the article’s title, the first word of the title should be capitalized unless the succeeding words are proper nouns. End your article title listing with a period.

6. Italicized the title of the book or journal followed by a period. Only the first word of the title is capitalize unless the succeeding words are proper nouns.

7. List the place where the book was published followed by the publisher’s name using a colon to separate them.


8. The first line of every entry must be indented (a hanging indent).

The APA bibliography format is one of the most commonly used bibliography style used in research papers and other scholarly manuscripts.

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APA Works Cited

September 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

APA Works Cited is generally considered as one of the most used citation styles worldwide.

Citations are actually references to a published or unpublished source which basically comes in an abbreviated alphanumeric expression that is placed at the back portion of books or any intellectual works. Citations are also created to promote intellectual honesty and to recognize the prior or unoriginal ideas to the correct sources, thus enables the readers to know independently whether the referenced materials supports the author’s argument in the claimed way.Apa works cited

These APA works cited follows a specific form of citation system and one of these types of system is the APA or American Psychological Association.

APA (American Psychological Association) citation styles are defined as the rules and conventions that are established by the American Psychological Association. The sole purpose of APA works cited is for documenting the sources used in a research paper.  Styles under APA works cited assert both in-text citations and a reference list. There should be a complete citation in the reference list (vice versa) in every in-text citation.


Examples of APA works cited are follows:

GENERAL FORMAT:

Author’s Last Name, First Initials. (Date of publication). Article title.

Name of Periodical, volume number, pages.

Examples:

Agusti, A.G., Sauleda, J., Miralles, C.,Togores, B., Sala, E., & Batle, S. et al.

(2002, August 15). Skeletal Muscle Apoptosis and Weight Loss In Chronic

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical

Care Medicine, 166, 485-489. [journal article -- volume 166. Note how multiple

authors are shown]
Bhutto, Benazir. (1997). In Encyclopedia Americana. (Vol.3), 644-45.

Danbury, CT: Grolier, Inc. [encyclopedia article -- note that Bhutto,

Benazir is the title of the article, not the author's name]

Giangreco, M. F. (1999-2000). What Do I Do Now? A Teacher’s Guide to Including

Students With Disabilities. In K.L. Freiberg (Ed.), Annual Editions: Educating

Exceptional Children, (pp. 18-20). Guilford, Ct: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill. [book

chapter]
Internet Filtering Software. (2002, April 26). Issues & Controversies on File,

145-168. [book chapter -- note that no author's name was given]
The Legacy: A Round Table of Historians Ponders How the Future Will View September

11. (2002, Sept. 9). Newsweek, 62-65. [popular magazine article --

no author's name given]
Pendleton, D. A. (2000). The Government Should Legislate Morality. Opposing

Viewpoints: American Values, 190-195. [book chapter]

Take note also that APA Works Cited follows a special formatting standard with the use of indention’s and italics in manuscripts and papers so better yet be keen in the format that you are making.

These APA works cited follows a specific form of citation system and one of these types of system is the APA or American Psychological Association.

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