All scholarly or academic work requires that you cite your sources, whether you are writing a paper, a dissertation, or a quick report. By citing your sources, you are showing your reader how you came to your conclusions and acknowledging the work of others that brought you to your conclusions.
Citing your sources:
- Documents your research and scholarship
- Acknowledges the work of others whose scholarship contributed to your work
- Helps your reader understand the context of your argument
- Provides information for your reader to use to locate additional information on your topic
- Establishes the credibility of your scholarship
- Provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your own integrity and understanding of academic ethics
- Avoids plagiarism!
Habits to acquire:
- Starting with the first draft of a paper, get in the habit of acknowledging where ideas and quotes came from.
- Keep a paper trail of your sources. Include information about the source in your note-taking.
- Enclose direct quotes with quotation marks and keep track of the original source. Avoid copying and pasting unless using quotation marks.
- As you paraphrase the words and ideas of others, keep track of the original source.
- Use a citation building tool: APA Style Central
