Published on
August 7, 2022
by
Courtney Gahan.
Revised on
August 15, 2023.
A research paper outline is a useful tool to aid in the writing process, providing a structure to follow with all information to be included in the paper clearly organized.
A quality outline can make writing your research paper more efficient by helping to:
Organize your thoughts
Understand the flow of information and how ideas are related
Ensure nothing is forgotten
A research paper outline can also give your teacher an early idea of the final product.
Published on
April 8, 2022
by
Courtney Gahan
Revised on
June 1, 2023.
Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas into your own words. Paraphrasing a source involves changing the wording while preserving the original meaning.
Paraphrasing is an alternative to quoting (copying someone’s exact words and putting them in quotation marks). In academic writing, it’s usually better to integrate sources by paraphrasing instead of quoting. It shows that you have understood the source, reads more smoothly, and keeps your own voice front and center.
Every time you paraphrase, it’s important to cite the source. Also take care not to use wording that is too similar to the original. Otherwise, you could be at risk of committing plagiarism.
This article reflects the APA 6th edition guidelines. Click here for APA 7th edition guidelines.
An APA abstract is a summary of your paper in 150–250 words. It describes the research problem, methods, results and conclusions of your research. For published papers, it also includes a list of keywords.
Write the abstract after you have finished your paper, and place it on a separate page after the title page.
The formatting of the abstract page is the same as the rest of an APA style paper: double-spaced, Times New Roman 12pt font, one-inch margins, and a running head at the top of the page.
Published on
November 6, 2020
by
Courtney Gahan.
Revised on
June 16, 2022.
This article reflects the APA 6th edition guidelines. Click here for APA 7th edition guidelines.
The format of an APA interview citation depends on whether the source is a published interview or an interview you conducted yourself.
Personal interviews that can’t be retrieved by the reader shouldn’t be included in an APA reference list. Instead, cite the interview as a personal communication in the text.
According to the CEO, the company’s communications strategy is moving in a different direction (B. Jones, personal communication, January 22, 2020).
If the interview was published in a retrievable source (e.g. a website, journal, newspaper or book), follow the usual citation format for that type of source.
You can use Scribbr’s free APA Citation Generator to create APA in-text citations and reference list entries for different source types.
Published on
November 4, 2020
by
Courtney Gahan.
Revised on
May 19, 2022.
This article reflects the APA 6th edition guidelines. Click here for APA 7th edition guidelines.
The APA reference page is a separate page at the end of your paper where all sources you cited in the main text are listed. The references are sorted alphabetically, double spaced, and formatted using a hanging indent of ½ inch. Use “References” as page heading and include a running head with your paper title and page number.
The MLA Works Cited entry for an online video contains the video’s creator, the title, the website or platform in italics (e.g. YouTube), the channel or user that uploaded the video, the upload date, and the URL.
If the video was uploaded by the same person or organization that created it, or if no clear creator can be identified, omit the author element and start with the video’s title instead.
The in-text citation should match the first element of the Works Cited (either the creator’s name, or a short version of the title). You can also include a timestamp in place of a page number.
Note that if you are citing a whole movie that has been uploaded to a video-sharing platform, you should use the format of an MLA movie citation instead. The same goes for a TV episode. For a TED Talk, you can follow the YouTube format if you cite it from YouTube.
Published on
April 16, 2019
by
Courtney Gahan.
Revised on
June 16, 2022.
An MLA Works Cited entry for a journal article contains the author(s); article title; journal name; volume and issue; month and year; page range; and a DOI if accessed online. In the in-text citation, include the author’s last name and the page number.
In MLA style, up to two authors are included in a citation. For sources with more than two authors, the citation is shortened with “et al.”
In the Works Cited list, the first author’s name is inverted (surname followed by first name). In an MLA in-text citation, only surnames are included.
Number of authors
Works Cited example
In-text citation example
1 author
Wallace-Wells, David.
(Wallace-Wells 11)
2 authors
Oreskes, Naomi, and Erik M. Conway.
(Oreskes and Conway 84)
3+ authors
Armstrong, Anne K., et al.
(Armstrong et al. 127–139)
The author element specifies the main creator of the source. For audiovisual sources, this may be the director, composer, or painter, for example. The author may also be an organization.
If no author at all is specified, start your citation with the source title instead.
Published on
March 6, 2019
by
Courtney Gahan.
Revised on
June 16, 2022.
When citing a play with numbered lines, the MLA parenthetical citation should include the author name and the act, scene and line number(s). If the lines are not numbered, include the page number instead.
When quoting dialogue, include the character names in all capitals followed by a period, and pay attention to indentation.
Quoting and citing a play
ROSS. I’ll see it done.
DUNCAN. What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won. (Shakespeare 1.2.94–95)
