MS6: Social Studies (Herman)

Why cite sources?

A citation is a way of giving credit to individuals for the creative and intellectual works that you utilized to support your research. It can also be used to locate particular sources (and, of course, combat plagiarism).  Remember, by the end of your paper, you are the expert on the topic and readers may want to learn more: citing your sources helps them!

Citations usually include the following components:

• Title (of the article, book or website)
• Author's name (there may be more than one author, or a translator or illustrator)
• Date the resource was created or updated,
• Who published the resource 
• URL (if a digital resource)

You may also need to include additional information if you’re citing a part of a resource that was curated or edited by someone else, for example in an anthology, newspaper or journal.

NOTE: not every source has every piece of information!  Check with the librarians if you can’t find something.