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Unit 10: Citing Sources
Lesson 1: Citing: What & Why
What is citing?
Whenever you get ideas or information for your paper from another work, you must credit—or cite—that work. Whether you are directly quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing information, or simply have reviewed a resource that contributed to the ideas in your paper, you must give all authors credit for informing your paper.
Why should you cite?
You must cite each source that informed your paper for four major reasons. First, to give your readers the information they need to locate and further explore the resources you consulted. Second, to provide evidence for the arguments you make in your paper. Third, to give all authors of the works you consulted credit for their ideas. Fourth, to avoid presenting the ideas of others as your own, which is plagiarism. Learn more about plagiarism and how to avoid it in Lesson 10.