ENGL 101 English Composition 1 (Pittser)

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Why Cite Sources?

Why Cite Sources?

Avoid Plagiarizing: You must cite any direct quotation, summary, or paraphrase of any idea or fact from your research. Citing sources is giving credit to the original author and publication where you found the information. Not citing sources is plagiarism and you may be subject to academic discipline.

Lend Authority to Your Paper: By referencing the work of scholars, professionals, and individuals with lived experiences around a topic, you demonstrate that your own research is based on solid, reliable information and that you are capable of critical thinking by being able to synthesize that research into your own.

Provide a Path: By citing sources, you provide the information that readers of your essay or presentation need in order to locate the same sources that you did.

Acknowledge Other's Work: Part of your research is built upon the research of other people. In the scholarship tradition in the United States, it is considered respectful and fair to give them credit for their hard work (just as you might hope someone would give you credit if they were quoting your own work!)

An Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography

Your 101 essay may require you to write an annotated bibliography.

In an annotated bibliography each citation is followed by an annotation with additional information about that source. 

Some annotations provide just a brief summary of pertinent ideas from a source, while others also include an evaluation of why that source belongs in the essay.

Annotating sources is a helpful research strategy.

An annotated bibliography: 
  • Helps you build and organize your essay by requiring you to gather, review, and assess the relevance of each of your sources before your essay is complete.
  • Encourages you to identify key information from each source and determine its role in your analysis.
  • Gives you an opportunity to assess gaps in your research.
  • Provides a mechanism for you to explain the credibility and appropriateness of your sources.

An annotation goes directly below the MLA citation for each source.

Quick Guides: APA and MLA

Citation Quick Guides

Automatic Citation Generator

NoodleTools

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