How to Avoid Errors in Citations? Guide

Home » Essay Examples » How to Avoid Errors in Citations? Guide

Whenever you are writing an essay, there is a possibility to take help from expert researchers and their past works. The work that has been done in the past should not be redone as it is a waste of time and opportunity to build something new. What should be done in this case?

Citations are an essential element of academic writing. It allows giving credit to those who have done work in the past. It is also mandatory to reduce plagiarism within the assignment. Citation styles are unique but it may present certain opportunities for errors. So if you are finding yourself among some of these errors, here is how an essay writer can avoid them.

Citation Errors and How to Avoid

• When you are citing any statement that involves a first-person pronoun such as “I”, you must change it. You do not want to keep it as it is otherwise it would be considered your own work and would lead to confusion. Use the name of the authors and then highlight with a paraphrase according to what they said.
• When you are writing a newspaper, it could be tempting to use citations from the previous assignment. When doing so, you should not cite your own work as it would be considered to be your own research. You should always use a unique paraphrase for the assignment of the original authors and their works. If you cited (John, 2011) in the last assignment, then do not change citations just use a new paraphrase.
  • Consider an example. You are “Anonymous”. You cited (John, 2011) in the last assignment as a paraphrase. Another assignment involves using the same information. You will not use (Anonymous, 2020) as the main citation. Instead, just use (John, 2011) instead but a different variation of the paraphrase.
• There are times when you should be including videos and audio in your work. The most essential thing is to avoid citing the narrator or speaker. The main way to do this is by including the producer and not the traditional method of the author. If you need any guidance, it always helps to trust the best. If you pay for an essay at an essay writing service that is relatively cheap, then you would get a mediocre end product. You need to find the most trustworthy experts out there.
• Most of the citations involve only the use of the last name of the authors. There is a chance that these authors have certain honorific titles such as a Ph.D., Dr, etc. You might be tempted to include these but there is actually no need. You don't even need to include the initials of the authors. Just the surname is enough.
• Remember to always look for variations in various styles. Having relevant information regarding just one style is not enough. You may need to use MLA, Chicago, Harvard, or any other style for that matter. In all these cases, there are different rules to remember. Some include endnotes, footnotes, year, page number, etc. All these details have to be remembered so that you can perfectly cite them.

These are some helpful tips to avoid any errors in the citation. If you feel you need some help, you can get assistance. I asked a specialist to write my essay for me and guide me regarding citations. They are really helpful and would give you some great pointers as well.

The main thing with citations is to memorize the rules. You cannot go much farther if you keep on forgetting the essentials. The best part is that it is a one-time effort and you do not have to keep on struggling. However, citations do change when newer versions might come out but these are subtle differences that can be immediately recognized. The more you practice, the more proficient you will get and ultimately lead to better grades or you can simply ask a paper writing service to help you.