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WHY CITE?: HOME

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Kendall’s Why Cite LibGuide, where you will find more than enough reasons to understand the importance of citing your sources.

Giving credit where credit is due is not something you only do in college; it is a way of life that extends to your future career whether you are presenting a new business model or a new restaurant concept. 

KENDALL COLLEGE'S CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Remember that you are a Kendall College Student and the rules of the Student Handbook and Academic Catalog apply to you. 

Kendall College Code of Academic Integrity

WHY CITE YOUR SOURCES

INTERACTIVE "PLAGIARISM DECISION TREE" BY CENTRAL PENN COLLEGE LIBRARY

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If you want more help understanding what is and what isn’t plagiarism, check out this interactive quiz by Arcadia University’s Library.

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WHY CITE?

Anytime you use someone else’s ideas, research, or words in your academic work, you need to tell readers specifically where you found that information. This is called “citing your source.” A citation is a reference that acknowledges the source of your information. 

In college writing, we cite sources because: 

  • It’s considered plagiarism if you do not (even if you didn’t know) 
  • To give credit to writers and researchers who did the work and wrote the words 
  • To give your paper expertise 
  • So anyone else reading your paper can go look up the information him or herself
  • To show where you found the evidence on which your argument is based 

It does not matter what kind of source it is. It can be from an article, a magazine, online or even a conversation. It has to be cited. 

You need to use a citation whenever you quote (use the same words) or paraphrase (rewrite in your own words) from another source. 

APA is also called the “author-date” method, because most citations call for the author’s last name and the date the article was published.

RELATED GUIDES

Check out these guides for additional information: