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Citation 101

Why do I need to include citation information?

  • Proper use of information citations is an important part of the scholarly process.  Try to think of scholarship as a conversation; properly used citations allow all participants to follow the conversation by directing the reader to the sources of ideas.
  • As scholars, we build on the works of others in our fields, and we must acknowledge those works when we use them, either through direct quotations or paraphrasing of ideas
  • Proper citations include both in-text citations and works cited/references pages

 

When do I need to include an in-text citation?

  • When directly quoting from a referenced source (direct quotes must be enclosed in quotation marks)
  • When paraphrasing an idea or concept from a referenced source (while paraphrased ideas do not need to be enclosed in quotation marks, they must still be cited)
  • Information that would be considered common knowledge (water freezes at 32 degrees, World War II ended in 1945) do not have to be cited.

Citation Tools

Citation Help

Need to check your citations or cite an uncommon resource type?  Find help with citation styles here!

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