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WRITING 322W Advanced Business Writing Karas

This guide provides tips for researching your topic and for finding industry graphics for your assignment in Advanced Business Writing.

Citing Graphics Using APA Style

 

Types of graphics:

  1. Tables (define)
  2. Figures (anything that isn't a table)

APA style recommends that you create a citation for any graphic that you reproduce in your assignment. If you draw from or refer to information from a graphic, but you don't physically reproduce the graphic in your assignment, you would cite the parent source of the graphic. In other words, you would cite the article or a report that contains the graphic.

Click on the other tabs in this page to learn how to create references and in-text citations for tables, figures, and parent sources. 

General guidelines:

  • All figures and tables must be mentioned in the text (a "callout") by their number. Do not refer to the table/figure using either "the table above" or "the figure below."
  • Assign a number to all tables and figures in your paper. Number them in the order that they appear in your paper. 
  • If you include a figure or table in your paper, you must refer to it in the text. Refer to it by the table or figure number. Don't refer to tables or figures by using either, "the table/figure above" or, "the table/figure below."
  • Above the figure/table: Type, "Figure" or "Table" followed by a number. Ex. Table 3. Justify left. 
  • Below the figure/table: If the graphic requires explanation, Type, "Note". Provide necessary details or information. Justify left. Leave one blank line between the figure/table and the following text. 
  • You have two options for placing figures/tables: Embed them in the text immediately after they are mentioned or Include them after the reference list. 
  • All figures/tables should be aligned with the left margin. 

 

 

Online Journal Article, including articles found in databases

Author Last name, First initial. (Publication Year). Article title. Journal Title, Vol(Issue #), Page range. DOI or URL

 

Database Industry Profiles

Author or Source. (Publication Year). Article title. [Industry profile]. DOI or URL

*If you don't see an author listed, look for a source, Often, the author is a company. 

 

Annual Report

Author Name. (Publication Year). Annual Report Title. Annual Report Number if there is one. Publisher if the publisher is different than the author. 

*Often, the author and the publisher are both the name of the company. 

 

Government Report

Author. (Year of Publication). Title of Report. Publication number, if applicable. Government Agency if different from the author. URL

 

Tables:

A table displays data in rows and columns that are populated with numbers and/or letters. 

 

Reference List Format:

Author. (Year of Publication). Title of the Table. URL

*The author may be a person, company, government agency, or other organization. 

 

Figures:

A figures is any graphical display of data or information that is not a table. Figures may be graphs, charts, drawings, maps, plots, photos, etc. 

 

Reference Format:

Author. (Year of Publication.) Title or short description of Figure [Figure Type]. Publisher if different than the author. DOI or URL if applicable. 

*If there isn't a title for the figure, create a short description of the figure.

*Figure Type is a term that best described the figure. Examples of figure types are Photograph, Graph, and Map. 

 

General guidelines:

  • All figures and tables must be mentioned in the text (a "callout") by their number. Do not refer to the table/figure using either "the table above" or "the figure below."
  • Assign a number to all tables and figures in your paper. Number them in the order that they appear in your paper. 
  • If you include a figure or table in your paper, you must refer to it in the text. Refer to it by the table or figure number. Don't refer to tables or figures by using either, "the table/figure above" or, "the table/figure below."

 

Examples of in-text references to tables and figures that you included in your paper:

As Figure 1 shows, the projected industry growth is...
As shown in Table 2, ...

 

In-text references to information found in tables and figures that are included in parent sources, but aren't reproduced in your paper:

(author last name, date)