Whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize another author's findings or ideas, you need to attribute that information to the author it came from. This includes both print and non-print materials.
Attributing information to another author is done by what is called citing or referencing that author. Depending on the style your professor asks you to use, this may be accomplished by using either in-text citations or footnotes. You will also be expected to include a list of full citations that describe each work and enable your reader to locate the item. This list may be referred to as a bibliography, list of works cited, or list of references depending on the style. For examples of different citation styles, see the resources listed on the individual tabs of this guide.
If the information is a well-known and generally accepted fact, it is not necessary to cite a source.
Now that you know when to cite your source, you might be wondering why. We cite sources to:
The details of how you cite will vary by the discipline that you are writing in, but all styles require that you mark or set off the work of others from your own work in some prescribed way such as a footnote number or parenthetical reference at the end of your passage in which you use the material. That reference will point directly to a full bibliographic citation for your source at the end of your paper. That citation in turn will follow the format required by the particular style.
All styles require the name of the author, the title of the work, and the publication or posting information. If you do not have all three pieces, then you need to re-evaluate your use of that source for academic work. Also, be aware that the publication information that is needed will depend on whether the source is a book, journal article or other format. Here are some examples of citations with the author, title, and publication identified.
