海角社区

A brief overview of writing research, sources and citations.

We know that it can be intimidating to use sources in your writing. Between MLA, APA, Chicago鈥� How are you supposed to know the correct way to cite something?听

Don鈥檛 worry. Regardless of whether you鈥檝e never written a citation, or if you鈥檙e trying to use a source that is tricky for you to cite, the Writing Center is here to help.听

What is a citation?

A citation is a way to give credit in your writing to other authors and mediums that influenced the ideas for your assignment. You can and should cite almost any type of medium that you drew information from, like YouTube videos, websites, tweets, emails, lab reports, magazine articles, and more.听

Citations can be in-text abbreviations or bibliography entries that are found at the end of your assignment.听

What鈥檚 an in-text citation?听听

An in-text citation is an abbreviation found embedded in, before, or after a sentence. It indicates to the reader that you鈥檝e found the evidence you鈥檙e presenting somewhere else. You鈥檙e telling your reader where they can reference that information.听

In-text citations are different from bibliography entries that are often found at the end of your paper, or in a footnote or end note.听

It鈥檚 important to use in-text citations to show who else has influenced your thinking. In text-citations allow you to do this in very specific spots throughout your writing.听

I鈥檝e heard sometimes a source comes with a citation, or that there鈥檚 a 鈥渃ite tool.鈥� Do these work?

The short answer is, maybe.听

The long answer is that certain search tools and websites, like Academic Search Premier, will generate a citation for you with a citation tool. Sometimes the citation is provided in the text or on the webpage.

These citations could be correct. We recommend double-checking generators or citations provided by the text. Citation styles change and sometimes generators make mistakes. Also, try not to use multiple generators for your citations. By using one generator, you鈥檒l be able to learn the quirks and common mistakes to look for.听

Use these citations as a starting point. Not as your finished citation in your paper. At least not until you鈥檝e double-checked that the citation is correct.听

听

What happens if I don鈥檛 cite something correctly?

If you don鈥檛 cite something correctly, your reader will be unable to reference the information that helped you arrive at your thoughts. When citing something correctly, we direct our reader to the exact spot where we found our information.听

In a college context, correctly citing sources helps your professors and peers see the effort you put into writing your paper, and exploring information around your topic.

Looking for more help with citations? so we can support you with your writing.听听

Getting started writing with sources on your own

There is lots of information online to help you start citing sources on your own. Once you get in the habit of writing citations, it may surprise you how comfortable you can become with them. And, even if you never quite feel comfortable with citations, the Writing Center is available to help.

Here are some links for a couple of the more common citation styles:听

• APA: You can look for citation information in the . Search for key terms like 鈥渋n-text citation鈥� or 鈥渉ow to cite a webpage鈥�.听
• MLA: Check out if you鈥檙e looking for resources. There, you鈥檒l find 10 separate web pages that can help you with your citations. And, if you need the most up-to-date information on MLA citations, check out the .听
• Chicago: To get started with Chicago, check out the information on . Here you can find a formatting and style guide, a sample paper, and citation examples.

The Auraria Library has created course pages with helpful resources on researching in different disciplines. A list of those pages can be found here: