ESP Mid Term Exam

Referencing Style Analysis

      To be able to communicate and socialize our findings, products and or results of any project or idea, specific measures should be taken into account throughout the writing process. Among these measures, the American Psychological Association (APA), has established a standardized guide for writing academic papers that writers should strictly follow. One of the most important aspects of academic writing involves the structure and formatting of reference lists, which has been detailed by APA (2010), through which writers acknowledge the sources used throughout their research. However, at the moment of publishing a report several mistakes can be found that may lead to the report being discarded. In this paper, a specific list of references will be analyzed and evaluated under the light of the APA style (2010).

      The list of references under evaluation presents several aspects to modify regarding formatting and structure. The list of sources should be titled “Reference” and it should be presented on a separate page. Entries should be double spaced and the second line of these entries should be presented with a hanging indentation of half an inch from the left margin (standard tab space). Regarding each specific case of reference, the first one "Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.”  is a reference that presents no specific author; therefore, as stated by the APA (2010) manual “ a work will have as its author an agency, association, or institution, or it will have no author at all” (p. 183). Nevertheless, the web site address included in the reference leads to a site with denied access. The second case  of reference “Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.”

is a post in a video blog; consequently, it should be presented by the screen name, followed by the date of publication in between parentheses and the phrase “Video file” in between brackets, together with the address of the post. Finally, the last reference entry “Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.” is an article from a digital newspaper written by a specific author. As this time we actually have an author, the entry should start by the surname of the author, followed by the initial capital letter of the author’s first name. Again, the date of publication should be presented in between parenthesis and the title of the article should be presented as it appears, i.e. without italics or boldface. Nonetheless, in this specific case, the name of the newspaper should go in italics and this entrance should also contain the web site address. Although writing reference lists for academic papers could be seen as a strict and detailed procedure, it is absolutely necessary when publishing academic articles.

      As previously described, reference lists are a remarkably important section of any academic paper. As an illustration, when conducting a research, a wide variety of bibliography may be consulted and even used as the literary framework in which the research is framed; as a result, researchers must acknowledge all the literature that has been reviewed so that not to plagiarize other authors’ works. As a consequence, the APA style (2010) manual becomes a guidance of utmost importance throughout the writing process and following publication of a writer’s works.

Reference

Dean, C. (2007, May 22). Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet. The New York Times.

               Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com.

Environmental Defense Fund. (2007). Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action.

                Retrieved from https://www.edf.org/.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6^th ed. Washington, DC:

                American Psychological Association, 2010.

The New York Times. (2008, February 4). Clinton on Climate Change. The New York     

                Times [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--WbQhciuG4.