Ch 15: Language & Style
About This Chapter
Language & Style - Chapter Summary
This chapter has been assembled to help you master key components of formal writing and avoid plagiarism. Watch as our expert instructors explain how to summarize sources in your writing, properly cite those sources, and then construct a bibliography or works cited page. These lesson videos cover a variety of writing styles including MLA, APA and Chicago. From these videos you should improve your ability to:
- Avoid plagiarism
- Properly use sources when writing essays and evaluating evidence
- Quote, summarize and paraphrase information
- Write citations in a bibliography or works cited page
- Make in-text citations
- Use MLA, APA and Chicago format and citations
To help you master these skills, this chapter also includes quizzes, transcripts and an exam. Use these tools to improve your understanding of the material and find topics you have not mastered. Address topics you don't understand by going to where they were discussed in the videos using video tags, or reading over the lesson transcripts. If there is any topic that you have a question on, be sure to ask our instructors for clarification so that you can master the proper language and style used when writing essays or evaluating evidence.

1. Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing Your Research
Using and citing sources correctly is extremely important for accurate writing in the classroom or workplace. Learn more about quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing your research and the reasons it's important to cite sources correctly.

2. What Is a Bibliography and When Should I Write One?
In an academic setting, authors must typically provide a list of researched sources, a bibliography, with their work. Learn what a bibliography is, what forms they come in, how to write one, and when to writing a bibliography is needed.

3. How to Avoid Plagiarism: When to Cite Sources
Plagiarism is a very serious matter in both academic and professional writing and, believe it or not, it can happen unintentionally. Discover how to avoid plagiarism, learn some rules of thumb to help remember when to cite sources, and see why taking large pieces of someone else's work can be considered plagiarism even when cited properly.

4. How to Read Citations in Texts and Bibliographies
Citations provide important information about how an author gathered and utilized the information from sources in the article or research paper, for example. Learn why it is important to know how to read citations and explore in-text citations and bibliographies.

5. Journal Article Citations
Journals, particularly those that are peer-reviewed, include articles that can provide excellent support and evidence for other written documents. Learn how to cite journal articles in-text, as well as on reference pages. Understand how to develop appropriate citations based on the writing style of your document, such as APA or MLA.

6. Citations from Authored Books, Edited Books and Revised Books
The rules for citing sources in an essay differ depending on if it is an authored book, edited book, or revised book. Learn the differences between these types of books and explore how to cite them on the works cited page of an essay using APA and MLA style guidelines.

7. Citations from Magazines
Citations are important when you are doing academic work, so you need to know how to properly cite magazines if that is your type of source. Discover the information you need to make citations from magazines, learn how to cite magazines both in text and on the reference page, and explore the different citation formats in both APA and MLA.

8. How to Cite Online Sources
Online sources can be cited using both APA and MLA styles. Learn about ways of choosing the best citation format, how to correctly cite online sources, and review example citations that use APA and MLA formats.

9. How to Make In-Text Citations
Citations are used to tell readers where ideas and information came from. Learn about the two major citation styles developed by APA and MLA, respectively, and explore other citation systems that are available.

10. What is MLA Format?
Writing in certain academic disciplines must follow the style requirements of the format created by the Modern Language Association (MLA). Explore the MLA format for the structure of citations, in-text citations, and the works cited page.

11. APA Citation: Formats & Examples
APA format citations and references are often required for college-level writing assignments. Explore the APA formatting style, APA format in-text citations, reference pages in APA format, and citations needed for journal articles and authored books.

12. What Is the Chicago Citation Style?
Many academic papers must follow the style and formatting guidelines of the Chicago Manual of Style when citing sources. Explore the rules and intricacies of the Chicago citation style and take a closer look at the use of footnotes and a bibliography.

13. How to Make a Works Cited Page
Well-written documents avoid plagiarism. Understand plagiarism and how to avoid it by properly citing sources. Learn how to make a works cited page based on MLA style and recognize when and how to use in-text parenthetical citations.

14. Sensory Language: Definition & Examples
Sensory language is used by writers to create more realistic, descriptive writing. Explore the definition and examples of sensory language and discover how the five senses can be utilized in writing.

15. What is Informational Text? - Definition, Characteristics & Examples
Informational text is nonfiction content that informs the reader about specific topics, and can be found in reading sources such as science books and instruction manuals. Explore the definition, characteristics, and examples of informational text and discover where it is found.
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- Technical Editing & Rewriting: Help and Review
- Elements of Technical Documents: Help and Review
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- Informal Technical Reports: Help and Review
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- Technical Correspondence: Help and Review
- Technical Resumes & Cover Letters: Help and Review
- Technical Instructions: Help and Review
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