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Writing is easy, writing well that can get the message across is hard. From students and novice writers to seasoned professionals, writers struggle with getting the right tone, language, and content in their writing. In academic writing, the most common issue is the authenticity of what was written in the essay or a journal. This is where referencing style and methods come in handy.
Multiple referencing styles are used by academia, by both novice writers and skilled authors. Through special development, these referencing styles have matured and covered multiple bases for the writers and assessors of the articles and essays.
In this blog, we will explore the idea of referencing in journals and essays, some popular referencing styles, and then help you with introducing an article in an essay through APA style.
Referencing In Journals And Essays
When you are writing a narrative or descriptive essay, there is hardly a need to provide any proof or reference as to where a specific idea or thought came from. Much of the contents of the essays will be personal and subjective and the quality of writing will be determined by other factors. However, things will be different when the focus of the essay will be neutral or objective.
For instance, argumentative and expository essays do not have any space for emotions, personal opinions, and views. Their sole focus is to convey factual information through arguments and evidence. This is where writers may need another established source to strengthen their positions. This is where the need for referencing comes to the fore.
Still, it is not enough to personally write the name of the book and that of its author to settle the matter. The practice should follow a standard so that any scholar from anywhere around the world can access the source.
Popular Referencing Styles
The need for a specific standard has produced more than one result. These days, there are many referencing styles in practice where writers follow the instructions of their teachers and instructors. Again, the need for references and a style comes at a more advanced stage of academic life. That’s why students are often more capable and able to master the craft with ease. In this section, we will cover some of the most common referencing styles that are used in academia.
American Psychological Association (APA)
American Psychological Association (APA) is the most sophisticated and developed method of referencing. It is widely used in science and technical subjects. The practice was first developed and started by psychologists in American universities – hence the name! The most common subjects that take advantage of the system include Psychology, Chemistry, and so on. It consists of both in-line and dedicated bibliography with all the relevant citations and references.
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Chicago-Turabian Citation Style
Chicago-Turabian style of referencing is another major player in the citations game. It is often favored by teachers and instructors in schools and colleges. When it comes to the difficulty and complexity of the system, it comes somewhere between APA and MLA styles. There are many universities across the world that follow this style of journals and essays. Students can learn the craft using tutorials online.
Structure & Formatting For Journal Article References
In this section, we will cover the structure and formatting of journals for article references. Students in colleges and universities need to cover essential ground before finalizing their essays. As for the APA style, it is consistent and standardized across the board.
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Magazine Articles
When you are writing an article for a magazine, the structure and formatting of that article are similar to a specialist journal. All the general formatting rules and guidelines will also apply. The main difference comes with the date of publication – the addition of a month in the reference.
Newspaper Articles
There are hardly any differences between journal and newspaper articles in referencing styles. The name of the author, the title of the article, and all the things in the reference remain the same. However, writers need to add the page number of the newspaper along with the name of the newspaper.
Articles With Two Authors
It might be confusing for students to cover a reference with multiple authors. In APA style, the way to cover the names of both authors is to add the first initial of one author, then add an ampersand and add the last name and initial of the other author.
Up To Twenty Authors
The format to cover the references for articles with up to twenty authors is the same as that of two authors. All students need to know to add a comma between the names of different authors, preceded by an ampersand. The format is the same for up to twenty authors for a journal.
F.A.Q
When compared with other referencing styles, APA is the most difficult and complex referencing and citation style in academia. The most common issue that scholars face revolves around switching the format and length of the title based on the size of the work. Also, it is necessary to mention the names of all the authors in references, even up to 20, but that is not the case with MLA.
The process for mentioning an article in an essay has been covered in the body of our blog. There are many similarities in the style but with a major difference – the journal article needs to mention the date of publication and volume, whereas the newspaper article needs to state the page number for the said article.
The introduction is the most important section of an essay or an article. When you are working on an APA article, it is necessary to start the introduction with a new page. There is no need to provide any heading to that and ensure that the title of the article or essay is stated in upper and lower cases. Then the text should start with no break between the sections, except the paragraphs.
This is one of the perplexing things that students face in writing essays and journal articles. We have gone through the whole process in the relevant section of the blog. Still, if you are not satisfied, here is the key: introduce with the author’s last name and then the initial of the first name. Then comes the date of publication in parentheses. The rest of the structure for the reference remains the same.
APA format is rigid in its approach and application. When a teacher or instructor asks students to follow a certain style, they must abide by the rules to ensure maximum scores. Otherwise, they will end up with deducted marks leading to overall poor grades.
The italicization of article titles is not necessary for APA style. Capitalization is a must and you need to italicize titles for works with longer names, including books and journals. As for the shorter works such as journal articles and essays, there is no need to bother and use standard formatting for them.
Closing Remarks
Writing an essay alone is hard, but when we add referencing and citation to the mix, it becomes something else altogether. That’s the main reason many students do not even bother to learn the referencing style for both in-line and bibliography references. This blog has shed ample light on the structure, formatting, and different iterations of the APA referencing style. It is a complex one, compared to its counterparts. That’s why it is limited to the more sophisticated and technical lines of study and research.
For scholars who are interested in learning the foundations or familiarizing themselves with the APA style, this is the perfect source to get started. However, for those who are looking for a way out, PerfectEssay can be the ultimate savior of the day. We have a team of writers with advanced degrees in their relevant disciplines and extensive experience in writing for the best colleges and universities across the nation. So, place your order now and save big on your first purchase!
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