Why Cite?
When you quote or paraphrase the idea of another person in your research paper or speech, you must provide a proper citation for the source. These citations:
- give credit to the author
- enable others to locate the source that you cited
- improve the credibility of your work, especially if you cited authoritative sources
If you use other people's words, ideas, or work (including graphics, charts, and tables) without properly giving them credit, you are committing plagiarism.
There are many forms of plagiarism, which include, but are not limited to:
- Not properly citing your sources when paraphrasing or quoting
- Re-using your own class paper/assignment in other classes (self-plagiarism)
- Copy-and-pasting from another paper, website, or article
- Buying, selling, or submitting a paper written by someone else as your own
Use the chart below to help you determine when something should be cited.
| If it is... | Should I cite? |
| someone else's words |  Yes, cite it as a quote |
| someone else’s idea or theory but in my own words | Yes, cite it as paraphrased |
| my own idea or experience |  No need to cite |
| common knowledge | No need to cite |
Hint: You can usually regard information and facts as common knowledge if you can find that same information in at least five credible sources without it being cited. However, when in doubt, cite it!
Paraphrasing
Be careful when paraphrasing information into your own words. Simply swapping out some words with synonyms is not proper paraphrasing. You must critically analyze and interpret the original passage and restate the essential points entirely in your own words. For more tips about paraphrasing, visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).
Citing Sources
The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite your sources. In-text citations are placed within the body of your paper near the information being quoted or paraphrased. Complete bibliographic citations are listed at the end of your paper as references or works cited. There are many different citation styles so be sure to use the one utilized by your program/discipline. While librarians cannot tell you how to cite a specific source, they can help you use the style manual and other resources to find examples. Here are a few of the most common citation styles with links to library resources for help:
Keep in mind that the penalties for plagiarism are the same whether or not it was intentional. Ignorance is not a defense when facing academic discipline or dismissal for plagiarism. If you are not sure whether an act constitutes as plagiarism or you have questions on citing sources, be sure to ask a librarian.
Reading a Citation
This animated gif will show you step-by-step how to read a citation. Each highlighted section in the citation is color coordinated to the type of information, below the citation. Remember: different citation styles have different formats, but the information in citations is consistent.
