The Basics of Citing and Documenting Source Material
Research papers at the college level (and some workplace documents) require some kind of documentation style. Documentation styles provide students, teachers, and researchers standards and specifications to follow for paper set up, in-text documentation, and references. They also have recommendations for writing style, word choice, and, in some cases, organization.
The most common documentation styles are APA (from the American Psychological Association) and MLA (from the Modern Language Association). Some fields and publications require Chicago Style (from the University of Chicago Press).
While it may feel tedious learning the different aspects of a documentation style, it’s important to remember that following style guidelines helps add credibility to your writing by providing you with a structured method for sharing your research with your audience.
Watch this short video, “What is Citing?,” from Cathy Cox at the College of the Redwoods to learn what citing is, when, where, and how to cite, and why it’s important:
Additional Resources
The following resources will help you learn more about the three different documentation styles so that you may properly cite your sources and correctly format your paper:
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- MLA 8th Edition Quick Reference Sheet, a handy reference guide for quick references to MLA formatting and citing rules
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- APA 7th Edition Quick Guide, a brief guide from the APA on documenting sources
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- The Chicago Manual of Style Online, a comprehensive website with everything you need to know about Chicago Style
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- These websites can help you format your sources:
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CHAPTER ATTRIBUTION INFORMATION"Citation & Documentation." OER Commons Excelsior Online Writing Lab. [License: CC BY 4.0] Cox, Cathy. "What is Citing?" Uploaded by SCCCLibrary, 16 Apr. 2016. Youtube.com. |
