Please keep in mind some of the common mistakes you should avoid for your papers:
- You must include a minimum of two paragraphs under each heading, this includes both the Introduction and Conclusion sections as well.
- Do not include first names or first initials of your sources when citing them within your paper- include authors’ last names and year only.
- Only include page numbers in the case of direct quotes! If you include page numbers, you must also use quotation marks (the exception is in the case of lengthy quotes that are indented on both margins).
- Do not include the titles of articles or the names of journals in your paper when referring to a source (use authors’ last names and year only!). Titles and journal names are only found in the References section.
- Incorrect– In a 1998 article in the Journal of Marketing, Charles Lamb discovered that consumers with low levels of purchase involvement engage in very little information search.
- Also Incorrect– Consumers with low levels of purchase involvement engage in very little information search (Lamb, C.W., 1998, p. 18).
- Correct- According to Lamb (1998), consumers with low levels of purchase involvement engage in very little information search.
- Also Correct– “Consumers with low levels of purchase involvement generally exhibit little external search behavior” (Lamb, 1998, p. 18).
- Do not use the term “Works Cited”. Your final page containing your source information should be labeled “References”.
- Do not fully capitalize any names or titles of articles in your References section (also, be consistent in the format you use!).
- Note that “advertisement” is a noun (the term refers to a specific ad) whereas “advertising” is a verb that refers to the process. Do not refer to the process of “advertising” as the process of “advertisement”.
- The word “apart” always means “not part of”– commonly mistaken for “a part” (part of).
- The word “majority” must be preceded by an article– should be “the majority” or “a majority”.
Formatting your sources: Authors (year), “Article Title,” Journal Name, Vol. #, Issue #, page numbers.
Heiens, R.A. and Narayanaswamy, R. (2016), “An Examination of the E-mail and Electronic Relationship Marketing Practices of the USA’s Top 500 Online Retailers,” International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management, 10, 2, 125-137.
