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OASIS Writing Skills

Video Transcripts:
Using & Crediting Sources: How Often We Cite Sources

Transcripts for Writing Center videos

Using & Crediting Sources: How Often We Cite Sources

Last updated 5/6/2020

 

Visual: Screen opens to a background image with a person typing on a laptop and a notebook and pencil, along with the Walden University Writing Center logo. The title Walden University Writing Center and tagline “Your writing, grammar, and APA experts” appears on the screen. The screen changes to show the series title “Using and Crediting Sources” and the video title “How Often We Cite Sources.”

Audio: Guitar music

 

Visual: Slide rotates and changes to a blue, brown, and grey slide with an image of books in the lower right hand corner.  The heading is blue and reads "When do we cite?" Below that is a sentence which reads: "Cite each source of information you use in your writing, avoiding both undercitation and overcitation."

  • Undercitation: Failing to adequately communicate to your reader where ideas come from through a lack of citation.
  • Overcitation: Repeating the same citation in every sentence when the source and topic have not changed.

Audio:  Per APA you should cite each source of information you use in your writing, avoiding both undercitation and overcitation. In this way, how often you cite in APA requires a balancing act. You should avoid undercitation, which happens when an author fails to adequately communicate to your reader where ideas came from through a lack of citation. You should also avoid overcitation, which happens when an author repeats the same citation in every sentence when the source and topic have not changed. What you might be citing could be a direct quote, a paraphrase, or an idea from a source.

 

Visual: Slide changes to a different brown and blue slide which also reads "When do we cite?"  Below that it reads "Why?" An explanation is them provided for why to cite.  It says:

"Citing sources this often:

  • Ensures the reader knows which source information is coming from
  • Avoids distraction and unnecessary citations

Audio:  Why do we need to create a balance between undercitation and overcitation? The key is that you must cite so that the source of information remains clear, but you don’t want to repeat citations when the source and topic have not changed.  Citing this often ensures that the reader knows which source information is coming from, which allows you to credit those original authors for their work, but also allows readers to further their own research by reading those original sources. Citing this often also helps you avoid distractions and unnecessary citations, streamlining your writing.  The main focus here is that you need to strike that balance in your citations, avoiding both undercitation and overcitation. 

 

Visual: The screen changes to an ending slide with slide a background image with a person typing on a laptop and a notebook and pencil, along with the Walden University Writing Center logo. The email address writingsupport@mail.waldenu.edu appears on the screen.