Basic Notes on How to Create a Research Paper with Citations and References
One of the easiest places to really mess up your research paper is in the section where you cite the authors whose work you reference. This is made even more unfortunate by how simple it is to improperly cite or leave out a citation entirely. Don't fret. Here are some of the steps you will need to take to create proper citations within a research paper.
Select sources
Having decided on the points you wish to explain in your essay it makes sense to decide what sources you will use to back up your assertions. Make sure they are sources you have access to. There may be a living witness to a historical phenomena that you may want to research but if he or she is a recluse and uninterested in helping you, don't count on having access to that knowledge.
Record the key information
For every source that you decide to use make not of the key information that your chosen format of academic writing requires. In most cases this will be the author's name, the name of the publication, the date of its release and the edition. More or less may be required of you.
Bonus tip: Use a template or reference generator
Citations have been tripping up students for quite some time and with modern technology there are quite a few methods you can use to save time and brain power. Two of the best are:
- Templates
By using a template all aspects of the format will be laid out for you so that no guesswork remains. When you reach the section for citations all you will need to do is fill in the necessary fields and for every place that you forget to put in information, instead of a blank spot you will see the name of the missing field. These are useful if being forgetful is your main issue.
- Reference generating sites
These sites can generate a perfect citation for a piece of printed work from very little input, sometimes even an ISBN will be enough. This means you can have forgotten just about everything and still get a perfect citation done. This is helpful if you are in a hurry and have lost most of your notes.
With these easy tips you will easily be able to craft excellent citations for inclusion in your papers.
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