Citing sources correctly is an essential part of academic writing. In pursuit of academic support, students may explore options to buy college paper, aiming to ensure adherence to academic standards and timely completion of assignments. When you use information from books, articles, websites or other sources in your papers, you need to provide citations. Citations serve several important purposes:
- They give credit to the original author and avoid plagiarism.
- They allow readers to locate the original source if they want more information.
- They strengthen your argument by pointing to credible sources that back up your claims.
But citing sources can be confusing, with different citation styles and myriad rules to follow. This guide will walk through the basics of citing sources in a college paper, from creating references to formatting in-text citations. Follow these tips for citing correctly and avoiding plagiarism in your next paper.
Choose a Citation Style
The first step is determining the proper citation style to use. There are several common citation styles used in academic writing:
MLA Style
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is often used in humanities disciplines like English literature, foreign languages, arts and cultural studies. It provides guidelines for formatting papers and in-text citations.
APA Style
The American Psychological Association (APA) style is prevalent in social sciences like psychology, education, business and nursing. Like MLA, it has formatting and in-text citation guidelines.
Chicago/Turabian Style
These styles, published by the University of Chicago, are commonly used by history, anthropology and economics writers. There are two systems – Notes and Bibliography or Author-Date.
Other Styles
Some other discipline-specific styles are IEEE for engineering, AMA for medicine and CSE for natural sciences. Check your assignment instructions to see if your instructor requires a specific style.
The major citation styles have minor differences but mostly share general principles. Follow your style guide’s rules when assembling citations and formatting papers.
Gather Source Information
Students seeking academic writing help may refer to an Academized.com review to evaluate the quality, reliability, and suitability of the services offered by the platform before engaging their services. As you research and read sources, make sure to record key details for citing later. For all sources, note the author name(s), title, publication date and publisher. For articles and chapters, add the journal/book title and page range. For websites, include the URL and access date.
Keep this information organized in your notes and reference list. Having it on hand will make citing much easier when writing.
Cite Sources in the Text
In-text citations connect specific passages or ideas in your paper to their matching references in the works cited or bibliography. This shows the reader where certain material came from and gives the original authors proper credit.
There are two main ways to cite in-text:
Parenthetical Citations
These citations are enclosed in parentheses and inserted after the cited text. They include the author’s last name and the page number if available. For example:
(Smith 123).
Footnotes/Endnotes
Footnotes (bottom of page) and endnotes (end of paper) also provide source credits. They include the full citation information in a note, designated by a superscript number in the text. For example:
Text here.^1
^1 John Smith, Title of Book (City: Publisher, Year), 123.
Check your style guide to determine the proper in-text citation method and formats. Follow the guide consistently throughout your paper.
Create a Bibliography/Works Cited
At the end of your paper, you must list full publication details for all in-text citations. The title depends on the style – “Works Cited” for MLA or “References” for APA. Formats vary by source type, but generally include author, title, publisher and publication date.
List the sources alphabetically by author last name. Double-space the list, with hanging indent for the second line of each entry. Pay close attention to punctuation, italics and capitalization rules for flawless references.
Citing online sources? List the URL and access date. For articles, include the database name. Be sure to accurately match in-text citations to reference entries. Verify against your notes to catch any missing information or errors.
Use Citation Management Tools
Tired of manually entering citations? Try citation management software like Zotero, EndNote or Mendeley. These programs organize, store and export references to integrate citations into your paper.
To use:
- Download and install the software. Many have free versions.
- Add source data to your digital library throughout research.
- Insert in-text citations from stored references while writing.
- Export the formatted bibliography/works cited list.
This streamlines citing sources and saves time formatting. The tools also help collect publication details with book and article metadata. Simplify citation management with these useful programs.
Follow General Citation Tips
Here are some key citation guidelines to remember:
- Cite all material that you quote, paraphrase or summarize from other sources. This includes direct quotes, statistics, images, ideas and more.
- Place in-text citations near the referenced content. Do not wait until the end of paragraphs.
- Check that the in-text citation matches the source entry in the bibliography/works cited list.
- Avoid excessive quoting. Paraphrase sources in your own words as much as possible.
- Use reliable, credible sources from scholarly journals, books and institutional websites.
- Make sure citations are complete and in proper format per your style guide.
Proper citing may seem tedious at first, but taking time to accurately cite sources helps avoid plagiarism. With practice, you will become comfortable using citation styles and referencing sources in your work. Mastering citations is key to quality academic and professional writing.
Conclusion
Citing sources enables you to enrich papers with credible information while giving credit to original research. Use the guidelines here to help cite properly in papers:
- Select an appropriate citation style like MLA, APA or Chicago.
- Record source data as you research to ease later citing.
- Insert brief in-text citations matching the sources used.
- Compile a bibliography/works cited list with detailed references.
- Try citation management tools to organize sources and create citations.
- Follow style formats precisely and check citations for errors.
Strengthen your writing by accurately citing dependable sources. Careful citation practice establishes your credibility as a researcher and helps avoid plagiarism accusations. consult your university writing center if you need additional guidance on citing sources correctly in papers.