Citing Sources

Why cite sources?

When you are quoting or paraphrasing another person's thoughts or ideas, you must cite where those thoughts or ideas have come from. If you do not cite your sources, you are plagiarizing -- a serious offense at any university.

Depending on the citation style you choose, you cite your sources either by using parenthetical references within the paper with a reference list at the end or by using footnotes/endnotes.

Citing sources serves two purposes:

  1. The original author is given credit for his or her thoughts or ideas.
  2. The reader is given the information he or she needs to find an original source in order to get clarification, get more information, or assess the credibility of the source.