How to Cite Your Sources

It is important to give credit to the sources you use. When you copy words and ideas that are not yours and use them without giving credit, it is called plagiarism.

You can avoid plagiarism, which is a serious offense, by giving credit to your sources. People who plagiarize may receive a failing grade or even be expelled from school.

Yes, the Works Cited page at the end of your paper is important in giving credit to the sources you used. However, it doesn’t give your reader information on what exactly you used from each source or exactly where you found the material.

When you quote exact words If you use the exact words of an author, you need to include them in “ quotation marks. ”

When you summarize facts and ideas from a source: Summarizing means taking ideas from a larger passage and condensing them into your own words.

When you paraphrase : If you use the ideas or opinions from someone else and restate them in your own words, you still need to cite the source.

 If the information is well known  If the information can be found in dictionaries  Statistics and information that can be easily found in several sources and are not likely to vary from source to source

 The most common type of credit (citation) lists the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses. In 1900, the worst hurricane in the United States history hit Galveston, Texas. “A storm surge almost two stories high broke over the city, causing 20- foot (6.1 meter) floods and more than 8,000 deaths” (Skelton 4). If you already name the author in your report, just include the page number in parentheses. In Hurricane Force, Michael Miles explains that cool air draws heat and moisture from warm bodies of water to form a storm (22).

 Some sources do not list an author. In those cases, use the title and page number. The winds of a hurricane are most violent around the eye (“Hurricane Season” 7).  Some sources do not use page numbers. In those cases, list just the author. Hurricanes in the Indian Ocean are called cyclones (Nealy).  If a source does not list the author or page number, use the title. In Southeast Asia, they are called typhoons (“Big Wind”).

 Brief  Give only enough information to identify the source on your Works Cited page

 There is no truth to the rumor that al-Queda has poisoned the Coca-Cla supply in our country (snopes.com).  ** I did not give the complete URL, only a snippet  Try to use as few unaccredited web pages as possible ( I am limiting you to 1)

A complete list of every source that you make reference to in your report. This provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited in your paper. Include a Works Cited page:

 Quote  Summarize  Paraphrase Use parenthetical citations when you when you

Sample 1 st Page

In-text Example: Corresponding Works Cited Entry: Author-Page Style Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford UP, Print. Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263). Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

In-text Example, citing a work with no known author: We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has “more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change…” (“Impact of Global Warming” 6). Corresponding Works Cited Entry: “The Impact of Global Warming in North America.” Global Warming: Early Signs Web. 23 Mar

Basic Format of the Works Cited Page: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. Examples: Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, Print. Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, Print. Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism. New York: St. Martin's, Print The Films of the Eighties: A Social History. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, Print. Works Cited page: Books

Article in a Magazine Format Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages. Medium of publication. Example: Buchman, Dana. “A Special Education.” Good Housekeeping Mar. 2006: Print. Article in Scholarly Journal Format Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year): pages. Medium of publication. Example: Duvall, John N. “The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise.” Arizona Quarterly 50.3 (1994): Print. Works Cited Page: Periodicals

Examples: Bernstein, Mark. “10 Tips on Writing the Living Web.” A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites. A List Apart Mag., 16 Aug Web. 4 May Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov Web. 10 May “How to Make Vegetarian Chili.” eHow.com. eHow. n.d. Web. 24 Feb Works Cited Page: Web

Film Example: The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, Film. Works Cited Page: Other