On paragraphs (Purdue OWL)
To write an academic paragraph, you must be able to quote, paraphrase or summarise successfully to integrate sources. This is where in-text citations are used.
In APA, we either use a signal phrase (see Quotation handouts below) or we end the quote/paraphrase/summary with (author, date). You don't have to do this for every sentence, as long as it's clear to the reader which parts are yours and which are the original author's.
You might start with:
According to Pringle (2003),...
And use thereafter:
Pringle described/argued/concluded/etc....
Notice that you only need to mention the year at the beginning because readers will understand that within this paragraph you are referring to the same source by Pringle.
Using a signal phrase is called integral citation.
OR you can end your quote/paraphrase/summary with (Pringle, 2003), within the same sentence.
This is called non-integral citation. You can have more than one such citation within the same brackets -- this is a good way to synthesise (see below) and summarise multiple sources. Separate them with semi-colons, e.g.:
The question of authenticity has implications for the content relevance of the test (Bachman, 1990; Fulcher, 1999).
This is also a good way to emphasise your own opinion when you are citing a lot.
See more examples of both kinds of citation (APA style) here and more on referencing on the same page.
Synthesis involves pulling together related ideas and sources on a topic, and presenting them in organised way (like different pieces of a puzzle).
Read this guide to synthesis. You may also wish to read the tips and advice from RMIT and NC State University.
Study this example carefully and choose one of the exercises from the synthesis section.
Be faithful to the source; if omitting words use '...', and if adding words for grammaticality use '[ ]'. Always use a signal phrase or otherwise integrate a quote into your own sentence. Do not allow a quote to stand alone. Include the page number, or section heading and paragraph number if there isn't a page number.
When looking at academic integrity in the university setting, it is important that the institution also has high 'standards of integrity that ... prepare students for responsible citizenship' (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999, p. 4).
Jones and Hafner (2012, Chapter 1, What are 'digital literacies'?) define digital literacies as 'the practices of communicating, relating, thinking and "being" associated with digital media' (para. 5).
More on quoting
Quotation verbs/Signal phrases (key)