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Watch this video for a summary of citations in academic writing. By NCSU Libraries. CC BY NC SA 3.0.
Additional viewing options: Press "play" on the video and turn on closed captions with the "CC" button.
To avoid plagiarism you must give credit whenever you:
Use another person's words, ideas, opinions, or theories
Present facts, statistics, graphs, and drawings that are not common knowledge
Quote someone's written or spoken words
Paraphrase someone's written or spoken words
Whether your information sources comes from the Internet or from print materials, it is important that you record the information in your papers accurately and follow the citation style that is specified by your professor.
This Cal Poly document includes a definition of plagiarism and outlines the consequences of cheating.
Popular Citation Styles
APA Style
Established by the American Psychological Association. This style is standard for multiple disciplines including many in the Social Sciences. The official APA style site provides robust citation examples and support.
This provides exhaustive documentation for APA stylistics, grammar and citations. There are print copies on Permanent Reserves and at the Research Help Desk on the 2nd floor.
MLA Style
Citation style established by the Modern Language Association.
Call Number: Research Help 2nd Floor LB2369 .G53 2016 (Ref)
ISBN: 9781603295628
Publication Date: 2021-05-20
The ninth edition builds on the MLA's approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements common to most sources, like author, title, and publication date. It allows writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, social media posts, and more.
Call Number: RESEARCH HELP 2nd Floor LB2369 .T8 2013
ISBN: 9780226494425
Publication Date: 2018-04-16
Turabian provides a more student-friendly version of Chicago style, and this text provides comprehensive guidance. There are copies on Permanent Reserves and at the Research Help Desk.
CSE/CBE refers to the citation format established by the Council of Biology Editors. CBE is the format preferred by writers in Biology, Geology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine, and Physics.
Scientific Style and Format is a recognized, authoritative reference for authors, editors, publishers, students, and translators in all areas of science and related fields. It is available in the Main Collection at the Research Help Desk.