Importance of citation

Citations give credibility to the written paper. It adds a sense of sophistication and allows people to trust your content by including other credible sources. It allows the readers to do a fact-checking of things and areas they do not understand. 

Another major importance of citation is to protect you from plagiarism. Plagiarism is using other people’s work with their consent. When you cite a source, it gives recognition to the content owner, and you acknowledge that it is not your own. There are several online tools that teachers use to check for plagiarism, and without the proper citation, you might lose marks due to plagiarism. You might even end up facing lawsuits if you do not adhere to citations. 

How to properly use citations

There are several citation styles out there. The major ones applicable in the learning institution are the Chicago, Modern Language Association (MLA), and American Psychological Association style (APA). These different styles are used in different fields. 

• APA style

This citation style is mostly used in science, psychology, and education papers. It is essential in making references easy to read and comprehend.
For example, the author’s last name and the Year of publication (Pence, 2010).

• MLA style

The MLA citation style is most popular in Humanities papers. This method of citation is usually on a separate page.

• Chicago

This citation style is popular in fine arts, history, and business. They use in-text format using quotes. They have a similar structure to the APA style.

How to apply citations on your paper

You might know how to write a good citation in the proper format, but knowing how to use it effectively is another skill. You do not want a situation where you have several citations on your paper, but they are not pointing to any text, or the referred text does not fit in. You are likely to lose your reader if you do not place your citation properly.

• Set primary and secondary source

You should categorize your sources into primary and secondary sources. List those resources that you heavily depend on to the primary source list while the rest move to the secondary source. Reference the secondary sources are the end of the paragraph after you have established the information.

• Balance your citation and original ideas

The sources only come in to support your ideas. You should not have a scenario where you have more cited sources than your original ideas. In most cases, your teacher might term your paper as plagiarized if most of the content is from cited source. Strive to have minimal content from other sources add more of your content. 

• Pick good resources

The credibility of your work is essential. Also, the credibility of your sources speaks more to your work. You should find books and articles from trusted and well-known sources. Some good sources, for instance, websites, end with .org, .edu, and .gov.

• Paraphrase information

To avoid using many citations and foreign text, you can opt to paraphrase the quoted text. If you rearrange the sentence formation, it will no longer belong to other people, and you can freely use it in your paper. You will find yourself in situations where every critical text cannot fit in using quotes. Here is where you use your knowledge and skill and rephrase the sentences to suit your paper.

 Conclusion

Citation makes your paper of quality, more trusted, and easy to understand. Follow the above steps and have an easy time writing.

• Assignment 1: You write to discuss
• Assignment 2: You write to describe
• Assignment3: You write to narrate

You have to include the portfolio in the first draft of any of the above assignments. You can choose to either handwrite or type. Ensure that you use a dictionary where necessary and check your spellings.

The Length of Coursework

The discussion on the first draft should have details concerning the length. It should also state whether the material to get cut so that the writing can be effective. There is no prescription of either minimum or maximum words for the assignment. It is excellent to write around 500 to 800 words for each assignment. If you choose to pass 800 words, that will be up to you. There should never be a deduction of the marks if a student exceeds 800 words. For you to be on the safe side, do the right thing by writing around 500 to 800 words without writing less or more. If you write too many words, it can be hard for you to meet all the requirements and have fewer marks. To have the correct content and Style, you do not have to write a lot of things because you’ll confuse yourself.

The responsibilities of  Teachers

• Teachers should set assignments that meet all the requirements and do not surpass the learners’ abilities
• They should assess if the assignments are effective
• They should use a mark table to mark each student’s work out of the total stated marks. They should later add all the marks from the three assignments to come up with the exact points.

Incomplete Folders

The contents should get assessed using the essential table of descriptors to give marks for every assignment.

Plagiarism

It is an act of writing another person’s work as your own. It can happen in numerous ways. Such as:

• If you do not acknowledge quotations
• If you use phrases and sentences of authors without mentioning them
• Writing a point that is slightly different from a particular author
• If you spend your money to buy a project online and present it as your work
• Pasting work from the internet without acknowledgement
• Letting someone different right the work on behalf of the author

You have to ensure that your work is original because plagiarism can lead to many problems. It is not a good idea to copy someone else’s work. If you’re having problems writing, it is better to seek help. The consequences for plagiarism are severe, and teachers should not protect students who have such a mistake. To avoid plagiarism, you can check your work before submitting it so that you make the necessary corrections. For learners not to have plagiarism mistakes, it is suitable for teachers to get them in class. Teachers should not fail to check for plagiarism mistakes because if they do, students will continue to do the same, leading to other problems in the future. If you have any doubts about a particular assignment, take your time and not submit it immediately.

Structure

If you want your work to be excellent, both your structure and organization should be on point. For a paper to be successful, the overall structure is vital, and the paragraphs should also get arranged correctly so that each of them makes sense. The only way you can show confidence with your paper is by doing the right thing. The reader will only give your paper attention if you give him or her numerous reasons too. You need to think about the climaxes, the opening sentences, and also the endings. You have to balance each section of a paper so that it looks solid and original. Writing becomes easier when you know what you’re doing, and for you to be on the right path, your ideas have to be structured correctly.