Cite direct quotations and concepts or ideas you borrow from your source. Borrowed ideas include statistics, summaries and facts. For citing within the text, use signal phrases to introduce your source. An example of this would be "According to the National Department of Energy..." or "Dr. Louis Green suggests..." For APA format, the author's last name and publication date must be included in the signal phrase. Include the page number of the cited information directly after it, whether MLA or APA. Enclose the page number in parenthesis.
Explain ideas in your own words. Besides directly quoting the exact words of the source's author, the words you write must be your own, otherwise it's plagiarism. Take the meaning or idea and explain it using your language. Borrowing ideas is okay as long as you cite the source. You must also place it in the works cited information at the end of your work. Avoid using long quotations, unless it is necessary to make a point. Excessive borrowing of the source's language without quotation marks, even if you cite it, is not correct and is plagiarism.
Create a list of sources at the end of your work. This is sometimes referred to as the works cited page or bibliography. The works cited list must be alphabetized and should include publishing information about each source you used. How it will be formatted is generally determined by the type of source it is, such as printed text or one that is electronic, or on the web. For printed texts, begin by listing the author's name, followed by the title, publisher's location, name of publisher and the publication date. Underline the book's title. View the following example: Falcon, Melissa. Introduction to United States History 2nd Edition. California: Wadsworth, 2003.
Cite the printed text in APA format. Here is an example: Falcon, M. (2003). Introduction to United States History (2nd Ed.). California: Wadsworth. The title of the book should be italicized.