Lyrics provide a great way to add emotion and help express some of your thoughts. You can, for instance, use the lyrics from a song to illustrate your point if you are writing an essay that allows this. College Writers offers more information about how to incorporate lyrics into your writing.
When you’re stuck on a certain topic, you brainstorm over and again. But then, you come across a song with a message that is concise, clear, and encapsulates your feelings. If you have experienced this before, you could use a similar song to spice up your essay. This is a great way of making your text more interesting.
Copyright issues can make it difficult to use songs as part of a piece of writing. There isn’t a law that specifies how many words are allowed in your writing. It’s important to include citations in your text and create a reference page to avoid plagiarism.
How to Cite Lyrics in Writing
There are many different citation styles, including APA, MLA and Harvard. You should adhere to the requirements of each citation format. These styles all require that you use in-text citations within parentheses, as well as a reference list. You may have to write lyrics in a different way.
If you are citing lyrics according to MLA format, then the artist name should be placed in parenthesis after the quote. When using Harvard or APA formatting, you need to include year and track number.
Quote marks should be used to cite songs. If you have a quote that is longer than a few lines, then use citations in block quotes, with the quote being placed at the end of the paragraph.
How to quote lyrics in references
If you want to include the album name in your references, then do so. In MLA style references, you must include the artist’s name before the album title, recording studio, date, etc. Format may also be specified:
The Painter. The album studio, 1995. CD.
If you’ve used an electronic copy instead of the physical version, please include the URL following the year.
References in Harvard or APA should be formatted as follows:
The Painter. (1995). The album [CD]. Recording Studio City (Recorded in 1994).
Quotation Marks vs. Italics
Students often have difficulty determining whether to use quotes or italics when citing song titles. There are a few simple rules that you can follow. Write the title of the album or CD in italics, and put the song title inside quotation marks.
Be aware that any exclamation or question marks at the end of the song’s title must be contained within quotations. Punctuation that isn’t part of a song title can be placed outside quotation marks.
Last Thoughts
It is important to remember the following guidelines when citing music within your essay.
- Avoid cliches. You can’t use certain songs or lyrics because they are overused.
- You don’t need to include every single line of a song. You can paraphrase a large song fragment to use as a citation. Cite some lines that are related to the argument.
- Imagine what you readers will think. Songs are poetic in that they create images for your readers. If the lyrics you chose don’t suit this purpose, try to find a different way to express yourself.
It is a great idea to use lyrics in academic essays. Our tips will help you to make your paper professional.
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