Exercise 12: Documenting within the Paper - APA
Here are some quotations (with basic source information) that might be used in a paper.
What is the correct APA documentation?
Statement #1
by John McConnell The Media as Babysitter McGraw Hill: New York 1989 p. 56.
"It is surely possible to become a 'Simpson'-style couch potato, imprisoned by the endless wash of images,immobilized, imbecilic, impotent."
There are two correct ways of documenting this sample.
- One way puts both the author's last name, the year the source was published and the exact page number of the source in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
- The other way puts the author's last name in the beginning of the text followed by the year of publication. If it is a direct quotation you put the page number at the end of it within parentheses. If it is a summary or paraphrase you do not give the page numbers.
Especially when using a summary or paraphrase, it is best to put the author's name in the text to identify where the summary or paraphrase begins.
These are the two correct formats:
It is surely possible to become a 'Simpson'-style couch potato, imprisoned by the endless wash of images, immobilized, imbecilic, impotent' (McConnell, 1989, p.56).
According to author John McConnell (1989) "It is surely possible to become a 'Simpson'-style couch potato, imprisoned by the endless wash of images, immobilized, imbecilic, impotent" (p. 56)
Statement #2
by Aphrodite Matsakis Vietname Wives: Women and Children Surviving Life with Veterans Suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Woodbine House 1988 p. 21.
"Vietnam vets can be seen as suffering from two traumas, first the trauma of war and secondly, the trauma of an unwelcomed homecoming."
There are two correct ways of documenting this sample.
- One way puts both the author's last name, the year the source was published and the exact page number of the source in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
- The other way puts the author's last name in the beginning of the text followed by the year of publication. If it is a direct quotation you put the page number at the end of it within parentheses. If it is a summary or paraphrase you do not give the page numbers.
Especially when using a summary or paraphrase, it is best to put the author's name in the text to identify where the summary or paraphrase begins.
These are the two correct formats:
"Vietnam veterans can be seen as suffering from two traumas, first the trauma of war, second the trauma of unwelcomed homecoming" (Matsakis, 1988, p.21)
Psychologist Aphrodite Matsakis (1988) maintains "Vietnam veterans can be seen as suffering from two traumas, first the trauma of war, second the trauma of an unwelcomed homecoming" (p.21).
Statement #3
by Gordon Wood "Jefferson in His Time" Wilson Quarterly, Spring 1993 p.36-51
Jefferson, who was once one of the most revered American founders and early presidents, is now looked upon as a racist and as someone who was ruthless, self-righteous, and unconcerned for basic civil liberties.
There are two correct ways of documenting this sample.
- One way puts both the author's last name, the year the source was published and the exact page number of the source in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
- The other way puts the author's last name in the beginning of the text followed by the year of publication. If it is a direct quotation you put the page number at the end of it within parentheses. If it is a summary or paraphrase you do not give the page numbers.
Especially when using a summary or paraphrase, it is best to put the author's name in the text to identify where the summary or paraphrase begins.
These are two correct formats:
Jefferson, who was once one of the most revered American founders and early presidents, is now looked upon as a racist and as someone who was ruthless, self-righteous and unconcerned for basic civil liberties (Wood, 1993, pp.38-40).
Historian Gordon Wood (1993) points out that Jefferson, who was once one of the most revered American founders and early presidents, is now looked upon as a racist and as someone who was ruthless, self-righteous and unconcerned for basic civil liberties.
Statement #4
Robert J. Thomas What Machines Can't Do: Politics and Technology in the Industrial Enterprise. University of CA Press 1994 pp. 35-42.
Consequently, technology can be understood, given meaning, managed, and changed only in a historical organizational institutional context.
There are two correct ways of documenting this sample.
- One way puts both the author's last name, the year the source was published and the exact page number of the source in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
- The other way puts the author's last name in the beginning of the text followed by the year of publication. If it is a direct quotation you put the page number at the end of it within parentheses. If it is a summary or paraphrase you do not give the page numbers.
Especially when using a summary or paraphrase, it is best to put the author's name in the text to identify where the summary or paraphrase begins.
These are two correct formats:
Consequently, technology can be understood, given meaning, managed, and changed only in a historical organizational institutional context (Thomas, 1994, pp. 35-42)
Robert Thomas (1994) in his latest book, What Machines Can't Do, says that technology can be understood, given meaning, managed, and changed only in a historical organizational institutional context.