Abstract: The short paragraph between the title and the introduction of your essay which outlines the content of the paper. Used in APA.
Anthology: A collection of works: usually chapters, plays or poems written by different authors that are published in the same book.
APA: American Psychological Association. APA style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences.
Bibliography: A complete list of sources used in the research of your paper, and listed regardless of whether they have been cited in the paper itself. Used in MLA, not APA.
Block quote: In some referencing styles, this is a long quote that is set apart from the main text in an indented paragraph.
Cite: To refer to the work of another author, either by direct quote or through paraphrasing the work of others.
Citation: The in-text reference to a source used.
Copyright: The legal right of an author/owner of a work to control the reproduction of that work.
DOI Digital Object Identifier: A code of mostly numbers (plus sometimes letters) that identifies a digital object, usually a journal article or e-book, on an electronic database.
Edited book: A collection of chapters written by different authors within a single book.
End-text referencing: The companion to in-text citations in the APA style: a list of references at the end of your paper which provides the bibliographical information of those items which have been cited in the paper. The equivalent in the MLA style would be a bibliography.
Endnote: A reference within the paper or assignment to a source by way of a superscript number1 next to the material and another at the end of the paper—just before the bibliography—in a numbered list of endnotes, where the full bibliographical information and page number/s are entered. Footnotes are standard, but some lecturers may prefer endnotes. Not used in APA.
et al.: Latin abbreviation of 'et alii' which means 'and others'. Used in some referencing styles to indicate multiple authors without listing all of the authors' names.
Footnote: A reference within the paper or assignment to a source by way of a superscript number1 next to the material and another at the foot of the page, where the full bibliographical information and page number/s are entered. Not used in APA.
In-text citation: The reference within an APA-style essay made by placing the author’s name and year of publication in brackets next to the material being referenced. For example: (Osman, 2003).
Journal: A periodical which publishes a collection of academic and/or scientific articles. For example: Journal of Academic and Applied Studies, Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, and American Journal of Cancer.
MLA: Modern Language Association. MLA style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.
Paraphrase: To restate the work of another author in your own words. This requires a reference by way of an in-text citation (APA) or footnote (Chicago).
Parentheses: Round brackets. Used in in-text referencing styles such as APA.
Plagiarism: Presenting the work of someone else as your own.
Quotation or quote: The verbatim (word-for-word) reproduction of any form of statement (e.g. text, speech). Note: quotes require a reference by way of an in-text citation or footnote that includes the precise and relevant page number/s of the quote.
Referencing: The acknowledgement of the sources used in your work by way of: 1) in-text citations and a list of references (APA); or 2) footnotes and a bibliography (MLA).
References: list of The list compiled at the end of an essay or report which contains all the sources that have been cited within it. Used in APA.
Running head: A header that appears on every page with an abbreviated title of the essay, paper or assignment. Used in APA only.
Summarize: To shorten a text by selecting the main points, and leaving out the detail and rephrasing it in one's own words
Thesis statement: A short outline of the argument which your essay intends to take; normally required in your introduction and abstract.
Turnitin: A software program that supports the detection of plagiarism and collusion by identifying similarities in wording between assignment submissions and the program's database of material.
URL Uniform Resource Locator: A specific string of characters that forms the location of a source on the internet.
Work (noun): This term can refer any creation (such as text, image, video, software, website) produced by an individual or group. Publications such as books, journal articles or websites are works, as are student assignments, presentations and unpublished conference papers. All works referred to in a paper should be properly acknowledged in the appropriate referencing style.