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Citation Resources

Information Literacy

Citing Your Sources

Citing sources is crucial for several reasons:

  1. Academic Integrity: Proper citation demonstrates honesty by giving credit to original authors, preventing plagiarism, and avoiding severe academic consequences.

  2. Credibility: It adds credibility to your work by showing your ideas are supported by expert opinions, enriching your arguments.

  3. Contribution to Knowledge: Citing sources places you within the scholarly conversation, contributing to the ongoing development of knowledge.

  4. Skill Development: Learning to cite correctly enhances critical thinking, research, and writing skills, benefiting your academic and professional journey.

Citing sources is a fundamental aspect of undergraduate work, ensuring integrity, credibility, and skill development while contributing to academic discourse.

Citation Management

Citation Styles

There are many citation styles but the most popular ones are:

  • APA (American Psychological Association): for sciences and social sciences
  • MLA (Modern Language Association):  for literature, arts, and humanities

We have guides available to use in the library, or you can see the staff at the Jenkins Center on campus as a quick resource.

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is also great for quick APA and MLA reference styles.

 

Citation Help

Note:Computer generated citation tools may not be always correct. Be familiar with your citation manual and look for errors.