DOCUMENTATION

• The system you used to give credit to your sources,

acknowledging that you are using the words, ideas,
views or findings of another person.

• Many styles used for documenting or citing sources,

each suiting a particular discipline.

•  The MLA (Modern Language Association) style used in

the humanities.
•  The APA (American Psychological Association) style used
in the social sciences and business disciplines.
•  The CBE (Council of Biological Editors) style used in the
natural sciences.
REASON FOR DOCUMENTING SOURCES

• To let your reader know that you have done your
homework and you are building your paper from the
ideas and research of others.

• To inform your reader where to locate the original

document if he/she is interested in it.

• To avoid plagiarism by giving appropriate credit where

it is due.
APA CITATION STYLE

• APA style citation has two main parts:

1.  An in-text citation, which is given within the main text of

the paper.

2.  An entry in an alphabetical list of references, which appears

at the end of the paper.
• Example of in-text citations:

According to Crystal (1985), pragmatics is the study of

language from the point of view of users, especially of the
choices they make, the constrains they encounter in using
language in social interaction and the effects of their use
of language has on other participants in the act of
communication. Pragmatic or functional use of language,
such as suggestions, invitations, requests, apologies,
refusals, and agreements, are essential components of
language learners’ “communicative competence” (Hymes,
1972). Performing speech acts involves both sociocultural
and sociolinguistic knowledge (Cohen, 1996).
• Example of out-of text citation (list of references)

Crawford, J. (1998). Bilingual education: History, politics and practice.

Trenton, NJ: Crane.

Cummins, J. (1979). Interdependence and the educational development

of bilingual children. Review of Educational Research, Vol.49(2),
222-251.

Cummins, J. (1981). Age on arrival and immigrant second language

learning in Canada: A reassessment. Applied Linguistics, Vol.
2(2), 132-149.

Gandara, P., Rumberger, R., Maxwell-Jolly, J., & Callahan, R. (2003).

English learners in California schools: Unequal resources, unequal
outcomes. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11 (36), Retrieved
from World Wide Web: www.epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n36
IN-TEXT CITATIONS
• Includes the author’s name and the publication date.

• Include page number – only if you’re quoting material

directly from the source.

• Can be presented in one of two places in a sentence:

within the sentence or at the end of the sentence.

Sekaran (2004) argues that a research problem is a situation where a

gap exists between the actual and the desired ideal state.

Some researchers have argued that a research problem is a situation

where a gap exists between the actual and the desired ideal state
(Sekaran, 2004).

In his 2004 book, Sekaran argues that when a gap exists between the
actual and the desired ideal state, you have a research problem at hand.
• According to Weissberg and Buker (1990), you can
choose either information-prominent citation or
author-prominent citation.

• Information-prominent citation:
The early forms of e-learning were generally the result of
existing training material being transformed into electronic
media (Wesley, 2002).

• Author-prominent citation:
Simon (1994) claims that human beings are at their best when
they interact with the real world and draw lessons from the
bumps and bruises they suffer.
OTHER SITUATIONS FOR IN-TEXT CITATION

1.  A work with two authors:

•  When the in-text citation is written within the sentence,
the two authors’ names are connected by “and”, while in
parenthetical they’re connected with ampersand “&”.

Example:
Howatt and Richards (1984) explain that the field of
language teaching has been one of tradition and transition
since its inception hundreds, indeed, by some accounts,
thousands of years ago.

The field of language teaching has been one of tradition and

transition since its inception hundreds, indeed, by some
accounts, thousands of years ago (Howatt & Richards, 1984)
2.  A work with three to five authors:
•  In the first citation of such a source, name all the
authors. In subsequent citations, of the same source,
provide only the first author’s name followed by
“et.al” (Latin abbreviation for “and others”)

Example:
Pica, Lincoln-Porter, Paninos, and Linnell (1996) claim that
not all students working with peers take advantage of the
opportunity to speak.

According to Pica et.al (1996)……

… … (Pica et.al. , 1996)

3.  A work with no author listed or an anonymous work
•  When the article does not specify the author, use the
first two or three words of the title in place of the
author’s name and place the quotation marks around the
article title.
•  For a work that gives “Anonymous” as the author’s name,
use the word “Anonymous” in the citation: (Anonymous,
2007)

Example:
One article ‘Communicate to Teen’ (2007) noted that
teens turned to peers for help.
4.  A work cited in another source.

Example
Galway’s study shows that learners appear to respond
better to corrective feedback when they are aware that
they are being corrected (cited in Lightbrown, 1999).

As cited in Lightbrown (1999), Galway mentions that……

According to Galway (n.d), ……. (as cited in Lightbrown, 1999).

•  Since the reference to Galway’s study is found in

Lightbrown, which was the source you referred to, then
you need only to document Lightbrown in the list of
references.
WRITING THE REFERENCE LIST
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE REFERENCES

•  Begin the reference list on a new page.

•  Use double spacing between references. Single spacing

within.

•  Name all authors up to 7 authors; do not use “et.al.”

•  Do not use authors’ first or middle names; use only their

initials and leave a space between initials.

•  Do not rearrange the order of authors’ in a work with

more than one author.
•  If there is more than one author, separate the names with a
comma and use “&” before the last author’s name.

•  Works of the same author are listed by the year of

publication. Begin with the earliest year.

•  Organise the entries alphabetically by authors’ name.

•  Every in-text citation in your paper must be documented in

the reference list and vice versa.

•  Use a hanging indent. The first line “hangs out” over the
rest of the citation. Indents the second and subsequent
lines five spaces.
• A work with 8 or more authors; list
all the names up to number 6 and use
ellipsis (…) followed by the last
author’s name.
•  For entries of Malay, Chinese and Indian authors’ names, list
them as follows:

Reference Style Examples

Malay names
Laila Jalil
Enter the name as it appears in Ahmad Bin Arshad
the original text. Azmi Majid bin Jallaludin,Haji
Chinese names

Enter the Chinese surname first, Lee, S. C. (Lee Sok Chin)

followed by the initials.
If a name of Chinese origin Ching, F. K.S. (Francis Ching Kee
contains both Chinese and non- Seng)
Chinese, list the surname first.

Indian names
Aditya Kuruthan (Aditya a/l
Omit the s/o, d/o, a/p, a/l Kuruthan)
REFERENCE FORMS & EXAMPLES
EXERCISES