Citing your sources demonstrates that your arguments and conclusions are not based solely upon your own opinion or biases, but are supported by the findings of other researchers.
Citing information allows you to demonstrate exactly what information you took from another researcher and it shows what information is original to your work.
When you cite others' research in your work, you are giving your audience the sources they need to seek out additional information related to your topic.
Plagiarism is a serious offense at Brevard College and is subject to disciplinary action. Plagiarism results from not giving credit to the sources of information you use in your research. See the Plagiarism page for more information.
When you quote directly from a source or when you rephrase, reword, or summarize information from a source.
When you make use of another person's argument, idea, or specific terminology.
When you use or glean information from another person's graph, chart, photograph, drawing, or other representation of information.
In academic writing, the most commonly used citation formats are APA, MLA, and Chicago (Turabian). Check with your instructors to see which citation format they prefer. There are examples and more information about APA, MLA, and Chicago listed on the other tabs in this guide
A free app that helps you collect, organize, and analyze research and share it in a variety of ways. When it senses you are viewing a book, article, or other object on the web, it can automatically extract and save complete bibliographic references.
