How to cite a book with the APA standard, in 9 steps
Citing a sentence, a text, an entire paragraph... is that task that has always led from head to toe. students and authors of books and articles dedicated especially to the area of research and/or teaching. Plagiarism is often reported or scientific papers are suspended for incorrectly using the format when citing.
There are various styles and standards for citing, but in this article we will focus exclusively on the APA format for citing books.
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What does quoting consist of?
A date is that phrase or expression that is extracted directly from another work to contextualize an idea or theme within a new book or research assignment. In other words, quoting reinforces, contextualizes and serves as support to clarify an idea that you want to present.
The citing functions are various and this will depend on the use that each author wants to make of them. They can serve to introduce a debate, to expose the affinity with a determined author, to expand a text, to clarify an idea or simply to give a more consistent definition.
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9 steps to cite with APA regulations
In this article we will present the steps to follow to cite a book correctly in APA format since, depending on the type of information that you want to add to a new work, we can use one style or another within the same regulations (textual or non-textual).
1. Gather information
When preparing a new work, it is very important to extract basic and accurate information from the author or book. that you want to include, since this will enrich our thesis when it comes to clarifying information determined. It is important go whenever possible to primary sources.
2. Take into account the work and the author
This step is extremely important since a bad choice of the book or author can determine a misinterpretation of the theme or idea that you want to get across to the reader. Above all, the author must have some recognition, that he is a specialist in the subject and whose ideas are reliable. In the event that what is intended to be conveyed are the author's ideas themselves (regardless of their quality), you have to focus on the words of that person, and not on the interpretation that others have made of are.
3. direct quote
In this case we must make an exact copy of the fragment that we want to extract, faithfully transcribing the text word for word. In this way, the copied paragraph is enclosed in quotation marks, and according to APA regulations, the name of the author or authors, the year of publication, and the page from which the text is taken must be placed in parentheses. For example:
"The Orient was almost a European invention, and since ancient times, it had been the scene of romances, exotic beings, unforgettable memories and landscapes, and extraordinary experiences” (Edward Said, 1978, p.19).
4. Direct quote emphasizing the author
Firstly, the author in question is mentioned, the year is placed in parentheses and finally the page just after the copied fragment is annotated. Example of the citation:
Edward Said (2002) wrote that “The Orient that I describe in my book as created in a way by the British and French conquerors, administrators, academics, travellers, artists, novelists and poets is always something that is <
5. extensive quote
In this case, it is a text with more than 40 words and is written without quotation marks. in a separate paragraph indented 5 spaces to the left, citing the author first, putting the year in parentheses and indicating the page at the end of the text. Here's an example:
For Sigmund Freud (1930):
The psychoanalysis founded by him could be considered from three perspectives: as a therapeutic method, as a psychic theory, and as a method of studying general application, susceptible then to dedicate himself to the analysis of the most varied cultural productions, giving rise to what he himself called "psychoanalysis applied". (p.9)
6. Specific non-text citation
Quoting non-textually refers to making a brief summary of a part of the work or source consulted, without copying verbatim the idea that one wants to present. Example:
Sigmund Freud (1930) prefers to focus on the ways to achieve happiness... (p.29)
7. generic indirect quote
It is necessary to cite only the author and the year, without the need to add the page. It is written without quotation marks:
Karl Marx (1848) refers to capital as...
8. Quote multiple authors
When there are two authors it is easy. Both surnames and the year are written: Marx and Engels (1855). When there are three or more authors, if they are cited for the first time, the last names of all the authors and the year must be included. When they meet for the second time, only the last name of the first author is recorded and an "et al" is added: Varoufakis et. al (1999).
9. Bibliography
Finally, we find ourselves in the final section when it comes to citing authors of a book. In the last section of the new work or work that has been prepared, all the bibliographical references of the citations used during the new text will be added alphabetically:
Karl M. and FriedrichE. (1848). The Communist Manifesto. Madrid: Publishing Alliance.
Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. Barcelona: Random House Mondadori.