Citation Usage
Citation is foundational to research, publication, and information literacy.
Citation is the referencing of other researcher/writer's ideas so as to provide traces for future researchers to investigate, verify, or explore. It is also the prime way of preventing plagiarism by differentiating another researcher's ideas and arguments from your own. Proper citation practices put you into a larger scholarly conversation on the topic, and makes your own work more credible.
Cite (Document): 1) any ideas or direct quotes used; 2) when you paraphrase (using concepts and quotes indirectly), 3) terms unique to an author’s research; 4) items including textual facts, numeric data, and/or visual information.
Do Not Cite: proverbs, cliche quotes, and common knowledge (examples: Barack Obama was the 44th U.S. President; Thomas Edison invented the phonograph; "Mona Lisa" was painted by Leonardo da Vinci; Hydrogen has the atomic number 1). For determining “common knowledge”, consider if a skilled researcher would need to verify. When in doubt, cite the item to be safe.
Note: Find out which citation style is required for your discipline or subject (ALA, CMS, MLA).
JSTOR: Citing Scholarly Work (Research Basics)
- JSTOR: Citing Scholarly Work
Learn how to create citations in the body of your writing, how to compile a list of the works you've cited, as well as how to avoid plagiarism by distinguishing your words and ideas from those of your sources.
Citation Styles
APA Style Publication Manual by ISBN: 9781433832161Publication Date: 2019-10-01The APA Style Manual (7th Edition) covers the aspects of scholarly writing most pertinent to writing in psychology, nursing, business, communications, engineering, and related fields. It specifically addresses the preparation of draft manuscripts being submitted for publication in a journal and the preparation of student paper being submitted for a course assignment.
Chicago/Turabian Style by ISBN: 9780226430577Publication Date: 2018-04-16Kate Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, written specifically for students, covers every aspect of research paper writing, from thinking up a topic to submitting the paper in official Chicago format. Turabian’s (9th Edition) guidelines are compatible with The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS 17th Edition).
MLA Handbook by ISBN: 9781603293518Publication Date: 2021-05-30The MLA Style Manual (9th Edition) details a system for documenting sources in scholarly writing. Information literacy is important, now more than ever. For trusted information, go to the source!
For nearly a century, the Modern Language Association has published trusted resources for teachers and students in the humanities. Librarians know they can rely on the MLA International Bibliography and the MLA Handbook to help writers find—and cite—reliable sources.
Citation & Plagiarism Tools
- BCCC's Academic Dishonesty ProcedureBCCC - Procedure 3.0917
- Digital Citation ToolEssential Digital Tool for Citing Sources
- Blackboard: SafeAssignBlackboard's SafeAssign is a plagiarism prevention tool that allows your instructor to check the originality of a homework submission. SafeAssign automatically conducts the check by comparing your assignment against a database of other assignment submissions.
- Grammarly's Plagiarism CheckerGrammarly’s plagiarism checker detects plagiarism in your text and checks for other writing issues.
- How Do I Cite Generative AI in MLA Style?
If you need to cite an AI tool, check out MLA editors’ preliminary guidance. - MLA Interactive Practice Template (Citation)To build a works-cited-list entry, enter the elements present in your source into the template. You must include any necessary punctuation, capitalization, and italics. The entry will appear under “Your Citation,” color-coded to correspond to the template.
The template is a tool for teaching and learning MLA style, not a citation generator. To verify that your entry is correct, consult the MLA Handbook. - Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.
- TurnItIn: Preventing PlagiarismExplore resources to learn about the different forms of plagiarism, why students plagiarize, and more.