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Learn to Write

A guide to help you understand the process of writing and types of writing for assignments at NorQuest College.

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©Helder Almeida/Hemera/Thinkstock. Used under licence. All rights reserved.

 

Many writing assignments require you to use other people's words and ideas alongside your own. Sometimes you already know what resources you should use⁠—such as a novel or class reading⁠—but assignments often need you to find resources on your own. Giving credit to the resources you were influenced by in a recognizable and appropriate way is a very important skill when completing academic writing assignments.
What is Citation?

Citation enables you to show that you took words, ideas, or images from somewhere else and used them in your own work. It allows you to give credit to sources used and to distinguish your ideas from the ideas of others. 

Citations appear throughout a written work and (in a longer form) in a list of references.

A reference includes the following information:

  • Name of the author(s)
  • Title of work
  • Where the work is published (ex. name and location of company, website URL, etc.)
  • The date of publication
  • Page numbers

The order in which this information occurs in your citation is called style. Your instructor will tell you to use either APA or MLA Style.

Introduction to APA Course

This online course introduces essential skills and concepts to help you understand and apply the APA Citation Style.

If you are a NorQuest student required to complete the Intro to APA for class, use the link here to self-enroll in the course. You will receive a digital badge upon completion that you can share with your instructor.
https://myclass.norquest.ca/course/view.php?id=20423

 

 

To preview the parts of the course, please click on the linked images below.  Note that the preview site will not grant a completion badge.

Introduction Reference Citations In-text Citations Formatting & Proofreading
Intro to APA 1: Introduction course image Intro to APA 2: Reference Citations Intro to APA 3: In-text Citations Intro to APA 4: Document Formatting & Proofreading
What is Plagiarism?

According to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism is "the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own." 

Plagiarism occurs when you borrow another's words without giving credit. Published words, ideas, and other forms of expression are considered the intellectual property of the creator. Borrowing words and ideas without giving proper credit is a serious offense that can lead to serious consequences. Plagiarism violates NorQuest College's policy and is considered to be academic misconduct and can result in failure or more serious penalties. 

Specific examples include:

1. Presenting in any format the words, ideas, images or data created by or belonging to someone else as if it were one’s own.

2. Manipulating source material in an effort to deceive or mislead.

3. Submitting work that contains misleading references that do not accurately reflect the sources actually used.

Learning to use other people's words and ideas correctly is an important skill for students in every program and career path. It's not just a skill for students, either: it's part of being a professional in many fields of work.

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite your sources in the body of your work and in your Works Cited or reference list.

Learning to use sources properly can take some practice, but it's well worth your time because plagiarism can have serious consequences. Luckily, there are steps you can take at each stage of the writing process to help you avoid plagiarism:

1. Plan ahead

When you get an assignment, make sure to set aside enough time to do research. You're far more likely to use a source improperly if you are rushing to meet a due date.

2. Be organized

It's easy to forget where you got a piece of information by the time you finish writing, so it's important to keep your sources organized and clearly labelled. People tend to develop a system that works best for them, but here are some tips to consider:

  • keep copies of each source you use - save them all in a folder or USB stick or print them out so that you can access at all times
  • if you write notes based on what you read, use a separate page or document for each source, and keep track of which page of the original source you got each piece of information from
  • make sure you clearly mark in your notes when you have quoted a source directly and when you have summarized or paraphrased

3. Be accurate

Make sure that you quote and paraphrase your sources correctly.

4. Cite from the start

Don't save your citations for later. Use in-text citations for every source you refer to from the very beginning of your writing, and keep track of them when you revise your drafts.

5. Double-check

When you proofread your final draft, make sure that every piece of information you got from another source has an in-text citation (having copies of each of your sources comes in really handy here!) and that each source you refer to is in your References/Works Cited page.

 

Additionally, avoid plagiarism accusations by:

  • learning how to document and cite your sources properly.
  • handing in your own, original work.
  • paraphrasing, or putting the ideas of others into your own words and using a citation.
  • using quotation marks and an in-text citation when you copy the words of someone else.
  • always giving credit to sources you use in your research.
Six Steps to Proper Citation

 

  1. Read the source.
  2. Identify an idea that you want to include in your writing.
  3. Write a sentence (including the information you want to include from your source) on your own. Include the information either by paraphrasing or directly quoting.
  4. Add an in-text citation to identify the source that influenced you AND to refer your reader to your reference list.
  5. Repeat this process every time you want to add in outside information to your writing.
  6. Keep track of the sources you have used and when you are editing, create your reference list in the style that your instructor has asked for (APA or MLA).

Note that any and all outside information that you include in your writing needs to be cited properly. Use the appropriate citation style that your instructor has identified in your assignment guidelines. Information that is not cited or credited correctly will be considered plagiarised.

If you've used someone else's words or put someone else's ideas into your own words, you need to show it. Give credit to the resources you've used in the body of your paper through the use of in-text citations.
 

In-text citations:

  • are short acknowledgements to identify which source was used to influence your writing;
  • need to appear in any and all sentences that have outside information - this might mean that most of your sentences contain an in-text citation
  • may or may not include a specific page number, depending on the citation style and method of adding outside information; and
  • can be added inside your sentence (narrative OR in prose) or at the end of your sentence (parenthetical).
Manage Your References

These tools can help you document and format your references.

*Always, always, always double check generated references for accuracy! Use the Library's Citation Guides to help you proofread.
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