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Sound Writing

Cody Chun, Kieran O’Neil, Kylie Young, Julie Nelson Christoph

Subsection 8.1.2 Basic Components

No matter the style, the basic components you need for each type of source remain relatively constant. Here are the components for a few types of frequently used sources:
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  • Author(s)
  • Title
  • Date
  • Publisher
  • Publisher location
List 8.1.1. Books
  • Author(s)
  • Title
  • Date
  • Publisher (AKA the journal name)
  • Page range of the article
List 8.1.2. Journal Articles
  • Author(s)
  • Title
  • Website name
  • Date published or updated
  • Date accessed
List 8.1.3. Websites
You might be asking us, “But why do I need all of this information?” No, citation guides are not out to get you! Each piece of a citation has a specific purpose, as we explain below.
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List 8.1.4. Publication Information and Why You Need It
Here are some reasons behind the information you need. Hopefully this context will 1) help you understand what the citation is doing and why, and 2) help you use other people’s sources more effectively!
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Author
Knowing the author of a source can . . .
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  • help you to determine the academic reputation of the author and track down other, related works.
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Title
Knowing the title of a source can . . .
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  • help the reader to determine whether to read the source in its entirety.
  • help you to differentiate between sources with the same author.
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Date
Knowing how old a source is can . . .
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  • help you to determine its relevance and scholarly context.
  • help you to differentiate between sources with the same author (particularly for year/date in-text citations).
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Publisher
Knowing the publisher can . . .
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  • help you and your reader locate the source.
  • help you to identify the validity or academic level of a source.
    (Is the publisher an academic press, or is it a more popular press, like Penguin?)
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Publisher Location
Knowing the publisher location is . . .
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  • a way to indicate which printing of a source you have, since versions sometimes vary by location. Due to the prevalence of online sources today, it is no longer required in MLA or APA.
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Journal Name
Knowing the name of the journal in which the article was published can . . .
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  • help you and your reader to locate the source.
  • give an idea of the discipline a source was published in.
    (Was the article published in social psychology or sociology?)
  • help you to identify the academic reputation of the article’s home.
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Page Range of Article
Knowing the page range of an article can . . .
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  • help you and your reader to locate the article in a physical copy of the journal (they’re not just online!).
  • determine whether you really want to read a 40-page article on signification, or just skim it (see Section 2.1).
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Website Name
Knowing the website name of a source can . . .
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  • help you and your reader to locate the source.
  • help you to identify the validity of a source (e.g., did the information come from k00keem0nster.com or harvard.edu?).
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Date Published or Updated
Knowing the date published or updated can . . .
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  • give an idea of how old a source is.
  • tell your reader if the source has been updated recently.
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Date Accessed
If the source is updated regularly, knowing the date a source was accessed can . . .
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  • make it easier to locate which version of a source you used.
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Tip 8.1.5.

Having trouble finding the right information in a source? Things like publishing location can sometimes be tricky to pinpoint. If you’ve looked all over the copyright page, title page, binding, and cover, just go to Google and search the publisher’s name. You’ll likely find the publisher’s address, which should tell you what city the company is located in. Another trick is to look the book up on Amazon
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www.amazon.com/
—sometimes they’ll have the right information in the “Product Details” section.
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