FITS 195 : Intro to the FITS Program

APA Style (American Psychological Association) is the standard for citing sources in social science papers, presentations, and research projects.

Key elements you need to know for your paper:

• Using in-text citations
• Building your reference page
• Creating a title page
• Following general formatting guidelines

Watch this helpful video: Citation 101: Avoiding Plagiarism

Tips for properly citing sources:

• Paraphrase in your own words without looking at the text
• Use tools like QuillBot or Word synonyms carefully
• Submit work through Turnitin to check originality
• Simply changing 3–4 words is still plagiarism—quote the author when needed
• Use quotes for exact phrases or sentences, including author’s last name, year, and page number
• Always cite authors by last name, even when summarizing or paraphrasing
• Don’t overuse quotes; balance them with paraphrasing
• Combining quotes and paraphrases shows your understanding and helps your paper flow naturally