Citations

Citations

(Taken from: http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/fill/english/links/writing/styleguide.htm)
v Citations are references to or acknowledgements of the work of other scholars
This may involve simply mentioning their work, summarizing their arguments or quoting directly from their work.

v Students are sometimes unsure why they are encouraged to cite other, previous work in the field they are writing about. There are perhaps seven reasons why academic writing uses citations so frequently (the following list is adapted and expanded from J. Swales and C. B. Feak, Academic Writing for Graduate Students [Ann Arbor: Univ.of Michigan Press, 1994], pp.180-81):

1. Citations are used to recognize and acknowledge the work done by other scholars. They recognize that these scholars have intellectual property rights over the work they have published.
2. Citations are used to pay respect to work done by previous scholars, and display familiarity with the history of the field.
3. Citations are used to create a research space. By describing what has already been done in the field, they can reveal what still remains to be done, and in this way prepare a space for new research.
4. Citations are tools of persuasion: writers use citations to support their own ideas and opinions. They can add greater authority to an argument.
5. Citations can be used to disagree with an author. This is especially important when disagreeing with a work, which is regarded as being seminal or extremely influential in the field.
6. Citations can be used to display that the author wishes to be regarded as a member of a chosen scholarly community. Or they can be used to demonstrate distance from a particular community.
7. Citations may operate as a mutual reward system. Students may feel a need to cite their teachers’ work; friends and colleagues may cite each other; etc.

v Citations always include a reference to the source. They may include a paraphrase of points made by the author, or direct quotation, or a mixture of paraphrase and quotation. Paraphrase is the default (neutral) opinion, since your essay is something you are writing in your own words. Direct quotation is permissible and sometimes valuable; but there should be a particular reason for quoting.
Writing Citations
Citing the author’s name
The first time you refer to a source, use the author’s full name-without Mr. or Miss, Mrs., or Ms.

First reference
John Stuart Mill writes, “The opinion which it is attempted to suppress by authority may possible be true.”

After that, should you need to cite the author again, use the last name only.

Second Reference
Mill continues to point out that “all silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.”

But for the very first reference, you should include the title of the work and the author’s full name.

In “Summertime Dues,” Walter Kirn informs us that…

For the next references, you might use the author’s last name and a personal pronoun.
Kirn also mentions the decline of summer job rate…
He concludes that…………………………

Choosing the Introductory Verbs
Example: The author…
To assert forcefully
To offer information
argues
emphasizes
inserts
opposes
contradicts
disagrees
finds maintains
points out agrees
notes
suggests
explains
believes
continues
establishes
adds
declares
observes
proposes
states

Before using these verbs, you have to remember that verbs are not interchangeable and that you should choose the verb that best suits your purpose.
You might need to ask the following questions before using the introductory verbs.
For example:
Is it being asserted forcefully? Use “argues” or “insists”
Is the statement being offered only as information? Use “suggests” or “proposes” or “finds”
Does the statement immediately follow a previous reference? Use “continues” or “adds”