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Terms

Abstract: a brief summary of an information source, such as a journal article or paper. An abstract appears at the beginning of the work, and it outlines the work's key points and arguments.

Citation: a quotation from or a reference to a book, paper, author, etc.Citations are used in the body of your paper to tell your readers the source of the information that you are quoting and give credit to authors for their original ideas. 

Journal: a type of perioda quote or a reference to a book, article, passage, or other text or author; in academic writing, citations are typically used in defense of an argument.ical which is usually considered more scholarly than a popular magazine. Journals contain scholarly articles, they are often published by academic associations, and their subject matter is specific to certain fields of study.

Magazine: a type of periodical which is generally not scholarly in nature and which may or may not have an author.

Encyclopedia: a general information resource that contains articles on many subjects. An encyclopedia can be generalized, and provide information on many subjects, or it may be subject specific, and provide detailed information on one subject.

Periodical: a magazine, journal, newsletter, or other annual publication that is published at least 3 times a year.

Reference: references are similar to citations, but they provide more complete information about the sources that you have cited so that your readers can more easily locate the sources if they need to. Think about a reference as pointing (or referring) to another source. References do not appear in the body of your writing, but are shown in a complete reference list at the end of your paper.

  • reference list is a list of the all the sources that you have cited in your paper.

Style Guide: a set of guidelines governing writing and formatting that is designed to provide uniformity in the style of writing, particularly academic or scholarly writing. A style guide makes it easier to read and understand academic writing.