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Plagiarism: Citation

This guide offers information on what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

Online Citation Help

Citations

What is a Citation?

   A citation...

  • Provides information on a book, journal article, website, or other published item
  • Credits the original author of the idea or work
  • Allows the reader to locate the sources cited

While each citation style will format the information differently, all include the author's name, title of the work, and publication date.

Why is it important?

  • To show your reader you've done proper research by listing sources you used to get your information.
  • To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas
  • To avoid plagiarism by quoting words and ideas used by other authors (and avoid failing a class or being expelled from the University)
  • To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them accurately in your paper by way of footnotes, a bibliography, or a reference list

Citation Styles