APA Citation Style: The Basics

For some students learning how to cite seems like a daunting task. You may be wondering why is it necessary to do so. Below are a list of excellent reasons why.You avoid plagiarism, thereby showing academic honesty and courtesy for the work of others. Allows the reader to learn more about the topic. Builds credibility to your work as you are citing experts to fuel your arguments. Leads to further research of your work. Whether you choose to add a direct quotation to your paper or merely paraphrase someone’s idea, you must cite any work that did not come from you. That includes but is not limited to text, images, code and charts. Remember when in doubt, cite it!