Citing Your Sources

A citation is a way to let your readers know that certain aspects of your work were borrowed from another source. Providing a citation allows your readers to then seek out these sources to read them for themselves. They also allow you to give credit where credit is due!

Citations include information such as the author's name, the title of their work, where it is located, when it was published, etc.

1. To uphold academic integrity and avoid plagiarism.
2. To provide credibility and authenticity to your work.
3. To demonstrate the depth of your research efforts.
4. To enable readers to locate and access your information sources.
5. To contribute to the scholarly conversation and acknowledge the work of others.
6. To enhance the credibility of your writing. 

Not sure which citation style to use? If that information is not included in your assignment, always check with your professor to see which style is expected.

If a specific style is not required and the choice is up to you, consider these general guidelines:

• APA style is often used in the social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, political science).
• MLA style is often used in the liberal arts and humanities (e.g., literature, linguistics, philosophy).
• Chicago style is often used in history and some other humanities fields. It is also commonly used in books and journals.