Introduction
The referencing and citations of the sources used in writing an academic assignment are important aspects, which a writer needs to take into consideration. The source citation is referred as quoting the text taken from the sources such as books and journal articles. There are two types of source citations such as direct and indirect. In this paper the discussion will evolve around the indirect citation of the sources used by the writer in his own work. The indirect quotations are frequently used in the academic writing, but the same is not the case with direct quotations.
Figure-1: Types of Citations
What is Indirect Quotation
The indirect quotation is used when the writer uses the content of the source indirectly. This implies that when the content of the source is used by the writer by converting into own words by interpreting or articulating the content of the source. In the direct quotation, the writer takes the content from the source as it is, while in case of indirect quotation, the content of the source is converted into own words by the writer. For example, suppose writer found content in a book written by Robert Gibson and published in 2016, “Ratios elucidate the financial health of a business by providing insight into how the business is performing”.
The writer could use the above content by converting it into own words as, “According to Gibson (2016), the ratios are crucial for the investors as these help in assessing the financial performance and position of the company”. Alternatively, this indirect quotation can be presented as, “The ratios are crucial for the investors as these help in assessing the financial performance and position of the company (Gibson, 2016).
Figure-2: Rewording the Content
Important Features of Indirect Quotation
The discussion in the above section depicts that the most important aspect of indirect quotation is the use of own words. The content of the source has to be converted into own words beyond all reasonable doubts. Further, while citing the source two things are used such as the name of the author and the year of publication. The writer should bear in mind that the name of the author used in the citation is the last name only. In the example shown in the above section, it could be seen that in citing the source only “Gibson” has been used while the full name of the author is “Robert Gibson”.
In the first alternative of citation, the sentence starts with a phrase such as, “According to....” and then the last name of the author is given followed by a comma (,) and the year of publication. It should also be noted that the detail as regards the name of the author and the year of publication are given in a small bracket.
Other Important Points
It may happen that the source, which is being used by the writer, is written by more than one author. In such cases the writer should not forget to include the names of the other authors. The names of the authors are separated by comma (,) and before the last author’s name “AND” is put, for example, (Game, Knights, and Willmott, 1991). The author’s names are arranged in an alphabetical order and this format is followed consistently throughout the paper. For citation purposes, three authors are considered to be appropriate, but there may also be situations in which a source could be found written by more than three authors. or by an assignment expert
In such situations, the names of all the authors are not given in the citation because it deteriorates the presentation. Further, since the citations count in the word limit of an assignment, so it is possible that the writer uses the sources written by many authors to cover the word limit only. Thus, it is appropriate for a writer to use “et al.,” after putting the name of the first author of the source, for example, (Game, et al., 1991).
Summary
In this paper the issues pertaining to referencing and citations of the indirect quotes in the academic writing have been dealt with. It is very important to give citations of the work of others used by the writer to accredit the work of another person. The writer involved in the academic writing needs to be acquainted with the citations and use of the sources in his own work which is unlike essay writing. .For this purpose, this paper elaborates the guidelines to be followed in giving citations to the indirect quotes in the written piece of work of the writer. The paper contains examples of citations covering various situations such as one author, three authors, and more than three author cases.
The referencing and citations of the sources used in writing an academic assignment are important aspects, which a writer needs to take into consideration. The source citation is referred as quoting the text taken from the sources such as books and journal articles. There are two types of source citations such as direct and indirect. In this paper the discussion will evolve around the indirect citation of the sources used by the writer in his own work. The indirect quotations are frequently used in the academic writing, but the same is not the case with direct quotations.
Figure-1: Types of Citations
What is Indirect Quotation
The indirect quotation is used when the writer uses the content of the source indirectly. This implies that when the content of the source is used by the writer by converting into own words by interpreting or articulating the content of the source. In the direct quotation, the writer takes the content from the source as it is, while in case of indirect quotation, the content of the source is converted into own words by the writer. For example, suppose writer found content in a book written by Robert Gibson and published in 2016, “Ratios elucidate the financial health of a business by providing insight into how the business is performing”.
The writer could use the above content by converting it into own words as, “According to Gibson (2016), the ratios are crucial for the investors as these help in assessing the financial performance and position of the company”. Alternatively, this indirect quotation can be presented as, “The ratios are crucial for the investors as these help in assessing the financial performance and position of the company (Gibson, 2016).
Figure-2: Rewording the Content
Important Features of Indirect Quotation
The discussion in the above section depicts that the most important aspect of indirect quotation is the use of own words. The content of the source has to be converted into own words beyond all reasonable doubts. Further, while citing the source two things are used such as the name of the author and the year of publication. The writer should bear in mind that the name of the author used in the citation is the last name only. In the example shown in the above section, it could be seen that in citing the source only “Gibson” has been used while the full name of the author is “Robert Gibson”.
In the first alternative of citation, the sentence starts with a phrase such as, “According to....” and then the last name of the author is given followed by a comma (,) and the year of publication. It should also be noted that the detail as regards the name of the author and the year of publication are given in a small bracket.
Other Important Points
It may happen that the source, which is being used by the writer, is written by more than one author. In such cases the writer should not forget to include the names of the other authors. The names of the authors are separated by comma (,) and before the last author’s name “AND” is put, for example, (Game, Knights, and Willmott, 1991). The author’s names are arranged in an alphabetical order and this format is followed consistently throughout the paper. For citation purposes, three authors are considered to be appropriate, but there may also be situations in which a source could be found written by more than three authors. or by an assignment expert
In such situations, the names of all the authors are not given in the citation because it deteriorates the presentation. Further, since the citations count in the word limit of an assignment, so it is possible that the writer uses the sources written by many authors to cover the word limit only. Thus, it is appropriate for a writer to use “et al.,” after putting the name of the first author of the source, for example, (Game, et al., 1991).
Summary
In this paper the issues pertaining to referencing and citations of the indirect quotes in the academic writing have been dealt with. It is very important to give citations of the work of others used by the writer to accredit the work of another person. The writer involved in the academic writing needs to be acquainted with the citations and use of the sources in his own work which is unlike essay writing. .For this purpose, this paper elaborates the guidelines to be followed in giving citations to the indirect quotes in the written piece of work of the writer. The paper contains examples of citations covering various situations such as one author, three authors, and more than three author cases.
