A citation is a reference to the source of information used in your research. Any time you directly quote, paraphrase or summarize the essential elements of someone else's idea in your work, an in-text citation should follow. An in-text citation is a brief notation within the text of your paper or presentation which refers the reader to a fuller notation, or end-of-paper citation, that provides all necessary details about that source of information.
Direct quotations should be surrounded by quotations marks and are generally used when the idea you want to capture is best expressed by the source.
Paraphrasing and summarizing involve rewording an essential idea from someone else's work, usually to either condense the point or to make it better fit your writing style.
You do not have to cite your own ideas, unless they have been published. And you do not have to cite common knowledge, or information that most people in your audience would know without having to look it up.
In-text citations alert the reader to an idea from an outside source.
In MLA and APA styles, in-text citations usually appear as parenthetical notes (sometimes called parenthetical documentation). They are called parenthetical notes because brief information about the source, usually the author's name, year of publication, and page number, is enclosed in parentheses as follows:
MLA style: (Smith 263)
APA style: (Smith, 2013, p. 263)
Parenthetical notes are inserted into the text of the paper at the end of a sentence or paragraph:>
In MLA and APA styles, in-text citations are associated with end-of-paper citations that provide full details about an information source.
Note: Different source types and situations require different information within the parentheses. Refer to a style guide for the style you are using for details.
In Chicago and CSE styles, in-text citations usually appear as superscript numerals, or note numbers, as follows:
These note numbers are associated with full citations that can appear as footnotes (bottom of page), endnotes (end of chapter or paper), or lists of cited references at the end of the paper.
End-of-paper citations, as well as footnotes and endnotes, include full details about a source of information. Citations contain different pieces of identifying information about your source depending on what type of source it is. In academic research, your sources will most commonly be articles from scholarly journals, and the citation for an article typically includes:
There are many other types of sources you might use, including books, book chapters, films, song lyrics, musical scores, interviews, e-mails, blog entries, art works, lectures, websites and more. To determine which details are required for a citation for a particular source type, find that source type within the style guide for the citation style you are using.
At the end of your research paper, full citations should be listed in order according to the citation style you are using:
Information from: https://subjectguides.esc.edu/researchskillstutorial/citationparts
APA Style
Image from: https://subjectguides.esc.edu/researchskillstutorial/citationparts
MLA Style
Image from: https://subjectguides.esc.edu/researchskillstutorial/citationparts
Chicago
Image from: https://subjectguides.esc.edu/researchskillstutorial/citationparts
Do you think plagiarism is a problem that is talked about in academia. Check out these real world examples of celebrities being accused of plagiarizing.
Plagiarism at Lincoln University
According to the LU Catalog:
"Plagiarism is the use of reference sources without providing correct acknowledgements. When you use ideas or words created by another person and do not give proper credit, you are claiming the words or ideas are your own. In essence, you are stealing from the original writer." In essence, "You Quote It, You Note It."
Plagiarism may take many forms:
It does not matter whether you intended to plagiarize or whether the plagiarism occurred unintentionally, there are consequences to the offense. Ignorance of the rules of correct citation is not an acceptable excuse.
Below are the consequences for plagiarizing:
Criteria |
Questions to Ask |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lincoln University Copy Right Law
Policy for Lincoln University faculty members regarding the use of coursepacks, anthologies, or classroom handouts.
Multimedia, Fair Use and Copyrights – ATS
Academic Technology Support (ATS) provides links to resources on copyright and fair use in the classroom.