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It is expected that your assignments will be informed by theories, concepts, issues, debates, and knowledges drawn from a variety of sources, hence, you have to cite/acknowledge where they were derived from. Otherwise you will either be accused of plagiarism (not properly referencing other people’s theories, concepts, issues, debates, and knowledges) or you will be producing assignments “off the top of your head” as it were. Both of these scenarios are unacceptable. 

Basically, there are two main strategies of citing works within academic writing:

i. Paraphrasing:

When referring in general terms to a particular theory, concept, issue, debate, or understanding, which is not your own, but which you do not quote verbatim (word for word) you must cite it (Name, Year). For example:

The notion of trickle down economics (Smith, 1987) came to the fore during the early 1980s.Within this passage, the author paraphrases--and thereby must cite--Mosse’s (1978) understanding of the Nazi rational for the holocaust.

ii. Direct Quotation:

a.  When quoting verbatim (word for word) from a particular source, you must cite the author fully (Name, Year, Page Number). For example:

For many years numerous young players have been ascribed the title of “Heir Jordan” (Johnson, 1995, p. 38).

Note:  The full citation (Name, Year, Page Number), and the period after the parenthesis.

b. However, if you refer to the author in the text, cite on the (Year, Page Number) after the quoted passage. For example:

For this reason, Michael Eric Dyson was wholly correct in contending that Jordan is “a supremely instructive figure of our times” (1993, p. 71).

Note:  The citation only includes year and page number because the author (Michael Eric Dyson) is mentioned in the text. Note the period after the parenthesis.

c. Direct quotations over 40 words must be indented and single-spaced. For example:

Jordan’s comeback thus set him apart from stereotypes of the African American male:

Note: Indented quotations do not have a period after the parenthesis.

Next: 2.  Reference Lists

In this season of Jordanmania, we are celebrating excellence, which is all to the good. With his fierce work ethic, his insistence on practices as competitive as games, and his refusal to concede a defeat until the buzzer sounds, Jordan is a role model and then some. Even the ad slogans most widely associated with Jordan--”Be like Mike” and “Just do it”--remind us of how much we can achieve if we simply make a real commitment to our dreams. (Kornbluth, 1995, p. 22)