English Language Learning & Teaching

There are many citation styles, but these are the two styles that you will use most often at TRU.

APA Style is set by the American Psychological Association.  It is used in psychology, education, business and related fields.

MLA Style is set by the Modern Languages Association.  It is used in English and related fields.

To cite a source is to acknowledge that you are using information or ideas from that source.  In the text of your paper, you must give the name of the author and the date and/or the page number.

At the end of your paper, you must list all of your sources and you must include all of the information that is necessary for your reader to find each source. This list is a bibliography.  In APA style, it is called “References.”  In MLA style, it is called “Works Cited.”

You should always cite your sources for the following reasons:

• Citations add credibility to your ideas by showing that you have read about the subject.
  
  
• Citations allow someone who is reading your paper to find your sources in order to learn more about the subject.
  
  
• If you do not cite every source that you use, you will be accused of plagiarism.  This is considered a very serious offence and could result in expulsion from TRU.  
  
  

Different citation styles require pieces of information, so you should always check to see exactly what information is required by the citation style that you are using.

APA Style is a style for formatting citations and bibliographies set by the American Psychological Association.

Author is the name of the person who wrote the text of an article, book, chapter, or webpage.

Citation is the information about a book or article such as the title, author, and date which readers use to fine the same book, article, or webpage.

Database is an online collection of journal and magazine articles available through th elibrary website or on the Internet.

DOI is the Digital Object Identifier System used for identifying contents in the digital environment.  DOI names are assigned to articles in databases.  They are used to provide current information, including where they (or the information about them) can be found on the Internet.  Information about a digital object may change over time, including where to find it, but its DOI name will not change.

MLA Style is a style for formatting citations and bibliographies set by the Modern Languages Association.

Plagiarism is the act of using another person's words or images in your assignment or paper without giving credit to that person.

Signal phrase is a statement at the beginning of a sentence that include the name of the author of the information you quote or paraphrase in that sentence.

Source is a term used to describe an information source such as an article, book, or website.