I'm preparing a report for the company where I work and the whole section in a chapter of the report (the theoretical part) is from a text book. Of course I've summarized the book but the whole section is from that book.
How should I cite the book?
1 Answer
I don't understand whether you paraphrased (restated in your own words) or reproduced (quoted verbatim) the book section.
If the former, just start the section in your report with something akin to: "The following section is based on Smith (2006, pp. 98-99)."
If the second, clearly mark the whole section as quotation (e.g. with quote marks and indentation), and append the correct reference:
"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent massa turpis, luctus eget sapien et, posuere sollicitudin massa.
Morbi eu velit nunc. Aliquam consequat sagittis nibh, quis dictum nisi tempor." (Smith 2006, pp. 98-99)
That said, overly long citations or paraphrases usually indicate that you failed to distill what's relevant and apply it to your specific context. I'd consider rewriting your section with a clear idea in mind of what you want to convey and why.
