Style Guide

From Rsgc Library

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(Style and Citation FAQs)
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No. Entries should be listed in alphabetical order by author or by title regardless of the format of the item.
No. Entries should be listed in alphabetical order by author or by title regardless of the format of the item.
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Revision as of 11:37, 1 September 2006

Contents

What is Academic Style?

Students at Royal St. George's College are expected to master a variety of writing styles to suit different academic disciplines. Specific style demands vary from subject to subject, so students should pay careful attention to information provided in each class.

Grade 9 students are expected to purchase The Canadian Practical Stylist, 4th edition, for use in their English course. That style guide provides a citation style similar to the Modern Language Association Style, and should be considered the standard RSGC style unless otherwise specified. Details on citation can be found on pages 340 - 345.

Samples of MLA Style

Personal web page

Professional web page

Online magazine article accessed through database

Wikipedia article

Book (one author)

Book (two authors)

Newspaper article

Other Academic Styles

Style and Citation FAQs

Why do I have to cite the use of someone else's ideas?

You want to cite your sources for three reasons: it shows your reader that you have researched your arguments in a thoughtful and effective way; it allows your reader to conduct further research into your arguments and ideas, and, it is dishonest not to give credit to someone else's ideas. That is the essence of plagiarism.

Every sentence of my essay comes from another source. Should I use one citation for the entire paper?

First of all, you should not be writing a paper like this. If you are writing a report or reviewing ideas on a topic you should inject your own bridging statements, ideas or conclusions to break up any extensive use of quotations from other sources.

Is there such a thing as too much citing?

There can be, but caution is preferable to not citing your sources. Try and distinguish between common knowledge (e.g. Wilfrid Laurier was prime minister from 1896 - 1911) and ideas (Laurier was Canada's best prime minister). Common knowlege does not need to be cited.

Do I have to provide a citation for images I have copied from the Internet?

Yes. Most images available on the Internet are covered by copyright and the source of the image must be cited.

Should I number the entries in my bibliography/list of works cited?

No. Entries should be in alphabetical order by author or by title if there is no author.

Should I separate items listed in my bibliography/list of works cited by type (Internet, book, magazine, etc.)?

No. Entries should be listed in alphabetical order by author or by title regardless of the format of the item.

I am citing a piece of dynamically generated content from a newspaper website. Should I include the extensive URL in my citation?

No. Provide as much information as possible for the content (author, title, date,, etc.) and the newspaper URL (e.g., www.thestar.com). Include the date you accessed the article.

I have lost the origins of a really good quotation for my essay. Can I still use it without citing the source?

No. If you want to use the quotation or any ideas from that source you must go back and find it. To use the quotation without citing it constitutes plagiarism.

When should I prepare my list bibliography/list of works cited?

Students often leave the compiling of a bibliography to the end of a research paper. A better way to do it is to compile a working bibliography as sources are discovered and used. This ensures you don't leave anything out or make careless mistakes.

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