Dictionary definitions should be correctly cited in academic papers.
Academic papers require the citing of definitions used within the papers in the reference section. There are different styles of citing definitions, the most popular being the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA). Each academic body will have its preferred style of citations and each style has its own method for creating the citation.
Instructions
1. Decide on the style of citation required by the academic body, most likely APA or MLA. There are variations to the format for each style; using the wrong style could result in being marked down.
2. Create a reference page at the end of the paper. The page should be entitled 'References'.
3. Write the dictionary definition, in the reference page, the first letter being capitalized, in quotation marks.
Modern Language Association
4. Specify the exact definition used by writing "Def." followed by the letter or number of the definition being used.
5. Underline the name and title of the dictionary and place it after the definition number.
6. Note the dictionary's edition followed by "ed."
7. Write the year of the dictionary's publication.
8. Reference the dictionary definition in the body of the paper with the title of the dictionary and the page number in parenthesis.
An example of the MLA citation style for the word definition would be:
"definition." Def.1. The Concise Oxford Dictionary. 9 ed. 1997.
American Psychological Association
9. Write the name of the dictionary. Italicize the dictionary name if typed, underline if written in longhand.
10. Note the dictionary's edition followed by "ed." in parenthesis after the dictionary's name.
11. Place the year that the dictionary was published in parenthesis
12. Write the city in which the dictionary was published and follow it with a colon and the name of the publishing company.
An example of the citation style for APA would be:
"definition". The Concise Oxford Dictionary (in italics). (9 ed.) (1997) Oxford:BCA
13. Reference the dictionary definition in the body of the paper with an abbreviated title of the dictionary, the year of publication, and the page number. The page number should be written as 'p.' followed by the number.
