All too often, we view the process of citing sources as a task that we are forced to complete in order to avoid punishment for plagiarism. In this negative perspective, citation can seem tedious and even meaningless.

Consider citation from a different perspective. Properly citing the sources you use in your research actually adds tremendous value to your work. It should be viewed positively, as an opportunity to:

Acknowledge the work of others (give credit where credit is due)
Add credibility to your own work (showing that experts support your ideas)
Place your work in an academic context (showing that you've done your research and know what others have said about your topic - you are part of the scholarly conversation)
Help your reader to easily find your sources (so they can verify your claims and teach themselves more about the topic)

Watch this video about giving credit, even if we explain someone else's ideas in our own words.

Video: Just Because You Put it in Your Own Words... (2 minutes 27 seconds)

Sources

The content on this page was adapted from "Information Literacy in Canvas" by Cabrillo College Library, licensed under CC BY 4.0 and "Why do we Cite Sources? -- MLA" by Palomar College Library, licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0

Video: "Just Because You Put it in Your Own Words..." by Lehman College Leonard Lief Library, 2014