Why do we cite sources? It does several things for you.
Citations will allow you to:
Acknowledge the work of other writers
Avoid plagiarism
Lend credibility to your arguments
Show that your arguments are soundly rooted in previous research
Contextualize your arguments in the existing scholarly conversation
Give readers resources to look into for more information on your topic
Citations come in many styles, and which one you choose will depend on your area of study. Two of the most commonly used by undergraduates are MLA and APA, which you will see below.
Citations appear differently, even within the same style, depending on how they are worked into the text.
Adhering to the format of a citation style allows your reader to quickly and clearly understand where the information comes from.
Once you become familiar with a citation style, you will be able to look at others' citations and tell immediately where it was published. This gives you an idea of the type of source being referenced (e.g., scholarly vs. non-scholarly) and allows you to quickly decide how to find that source if you want to follow up.
For more information on how to cite sources and format your bibliography, see:
Chapman University's Academic Integrity Committee page defines plagiarism as the following:
Representing the words, research findings or ideas of another person as your own in any academic exercise. [At their discretion, faculty may submit student work to plagiarism-detection software, such as Turnitin for review.]
In other words, plagiarism includes:
· If so, you must use quotation marks around the copied text and citations to show proper attribution.
· If so, put quotation marks only around the words and phrases that you copied. Make sure to include citations to show proper attribution.
· If you change any of the words (e.g., to improve clarity, or flow of language), use [brackets] to show which words you changed.
· Make sure to give credit to the source of the idea using a citation.
· You may also consider using a signal phrase to add extra clarity about where the ideas came from. For example, "According to Peter Burkholder, Charles Ives was all made of tunes because..."
· This is a bad idea! It's a very common form of unintentional plagiarism.
· If you do this, it will still be plagiarized even if you use a signal phrase and a citation.
· You must make it clear to your reader when the words are your own or when they are borrowed from someone else.
· A better practice is to either use quotes or use paraphrasing. Don't try to be sneaky and mix them together!
Test yourself with this activity provided by Chapman's Academic Integrity Committee.
In this brief video, you will learn more about how plagiarism is an issue for professionals, not just students. You'll also hear about strategies to avoid making mistakes that lead to plagiarism.
Closed captions are available on the video (click the "cc" button on the video to turn them on).
Check your understanding of Citing Sources by completing the practice quiz below.
You may also open the quiz in a new tab or window using this link: Citing Sources - FFC Practice Quiz
The following explains the general format of in-text (parenthetical) and works cited citations in the humanities documentation system of the Modern Language Association (MLA). We will also cover a few helpful web resources for MLA style.
In-Text (Parenthetical) Citation Basics
When you paraphrase or directly quote another author’s work in your paper, MLA format requires the use of parenthetical citations. These citations include the author’s last name and a page reference. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses.
The following examples show three ways that in-text citations could appear for citing this resource:
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
Example of a journal article in MLA:
Gillespie Rouse, Amy, et al. “Writing-to-Learn in Elementary Classrooms: A National Survey of U.S.
Teachers.” Reading and Writing, vol. 34, Apr. 2021, pp. 2381–415. SpringerLink, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10148-3.
In-Text (Parenthetical) Citation Basics
When you paraphrase or directly quote another author’s work in your paper, APA format requires the use of in-text citations, also called parenthetical citations. These citations include the author’s last name and the year of publication for the source, e.g. (Smith, 2008). When using a direct quotation, the page number is also included (preceded by “p.”), as in the following examples.
Direct quotation with author’s name as part of the narrative:
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).
Direct quotation with parenthetical citation:
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199).
Paraphrase or summary of information from another author:
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998).
When citing multiple authors
Any reference with more than three authors can now be shortened to the first author followed by et al.
Two authors: Giving credit to another author's work by citing the text is an essential part in writing papers (Johnson and Williams, 2009).
Three or more authors: The humanities has a positive effect on well-being of individuals, communities, and societies (Vaziri et al. 2018).
This is an example of a journal article cited in APA:
Janzen, L. A. (2010). The evolution of clinical child neuropsychology. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 24(2), 358-360. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854040903381420.