Tips for Citing with APA Dogfish Most Warren Wilson students are familiar with catfish, perhaps

too familiar, as it appears frequently in the form of breaded fillets on the Gladfelter serving line. Less known, however, are dogfish. Even J. Hundeleben*, a self-pronounced dog-lover, inaccurately though imaginatively understood dogfish to be fish with doglike physical attributes, like maybe ears (personal communication, November 5, 2009). While they dont have floppy ears, dogfish have several other claims to fame. Female dogfish are pregnant for a whooping two years, a world record (Gottfried, 2001). A few famous (and infamous) dogfish species spotlighted by Martin (n.d.) include the Dwarf Lampshark (the tiniest shark in the world) and the deceptively named Cookie Cutter Shark. Forget comforting images of cute gingerbread menthe Cookie Cutters favorite pastime is chomping down on chunks of large fish and nuclear submarines (Martin, n.d). The spiny dogfish, meanwhile, as Bigelow and Shroeder (1953) make clear, is despised by some for devouring more commercially popular fish and damaging nets. *Name changed to preserve anonymity. Bold-faced used to highlight elements of APA. Only the authors last name and initials are included in the reference list. All authors are listed last name first. The year immediately follows. References Bidelow, H. B., & Shroeder, W. C. (1953). Spiny dogfish Squalus acanthius Linnaeus 1758. In Fishes of the Gulf of Maine (p. 47-50). Retrieved from http://www.gma.org/fogm/squalus_acanthias.htm Gottfried, M. D. (2001). Chrondrichthyes (Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras). Encyclopedia of life sciences. Retrieved from Wiley Interscience database. A retrieval date is only necessary if a web page is likely to change. Martin, R. A. (n.d.). Order Squaliforms: Dogfish sharks 119 species. Retrieved November 10, 2009, from http://www.elasmoresearch.org/education/shark_profiles/squaliformes.htm A hanging indent is used for the reference list, and the list is double-spaced (due to limited space, ours is not). Interviews are cited in the paper as personal communication in this format and are not included in the list of sources.

Parenthetical citations include the last name and the year, but page numbers are not needed except for quotes.

Only the authors last name is given in a signal phrase, followed by the year. Use n.d. if the date is unknown.

The list of sources is titled References.

Citation FAQs Why should I cite? Citations show what information and ideas in your paper youve gained through research. Citations connect your paper to a larger discussion of the topic and enable you to place your ideas in relation to the ideas of others. Citations can give your writing more weight and validity by showing that you are well-read on the topic and your argument is based on more than your own opinions and experiences. Citations allow your readers to retrace your steps, providing them with the information they need to find the sources you used and read them for themselves if they wish to learn more about the topic. When should I cite? Cite any information you learned from another source, whether you use the same words or not. Information you already know, is not disputed, and you believe would be common knowledge for your audience does not need a citation. For instance, you would likely not need to cite the year the United States officially entered World War II, but you would want to cite an estimate of the number of US soldiers killed and wounded during the D-Day invasion. When in doubt, it cant hurt to get a second opinion, or go ahead and cite it, just in case. Why are there different citation styles? Different disciplines have developed slightly different formats for citing sources that emphasize the information most relevant for the purpose of the majority of writing in the field. For instance, APA emphasizes the year of publication because in social science disciplines such as psychology, social work, and education, timeliness is essential. MLA, meanwhile, is most often used when analyzing literary texts in the humanities, where it is normal to discuss a work written three centuries ago. Here, readers most need to know where in the text to find the passage discussed. For more information about the distinctive features of different documentation styles, see also our tip sheets on MLA and Chicago styles. A Word of Caution This tip sheet points out some of the distinctive elements of APA documentation. The exact format for in-text citations and the reference list varies depending on the kind of source, however, so it is important to refer to a style guide for how to cite a particular source. In addition, the format for online sources is updated from time to time, so when documenting online sources, check for APA updates online and make sure the style guide youre using is up to date! Additional Information Check out the Research and Documentation section of our website for online guides to APA and several other documentation styles: http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~writingcenter/ Click Online Resources. The Warren Wilson Librarys Painless Library Research page also lists many print and online resources for citing sources and avoiding plagiarism: http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~library/doc2.htm In addition, we have several print guides to different documentation styles at the Writing Center and would love to work with you on citations.