Need to cite your sources???

The dreaded day comes to all serious students when they are asked to write a research paper complete with citations and bibliography. Here are some excellent links that should help your students through their dread...

Rules for citing sources:

The rules of citation vary depending upon your purpose, teachers, and discipline. The one rule that never changes is “Always Cite Your Sources.” Citing your sources adds validity to your reports and ensures that you do not plagiarize. Here are two excellent websites about how to cite your sources:

http://www.rpi.edu/web/writingcenter/wc_web/school/citations.htm

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/citations.html

Your teacher will most likely ask you to use MLA (Modern Language Association) for your citations; it is used in college level literature and the humanities papers. Here are some great websites to help you format both your footnotes and your bibliography.

• MLA Style Guide (pdf) - Examples of how to cite sources for reference lists. From American University.
• Bibme - Creates bibliographies, and one can then download the bibliography as an RTF file. Registration is free.
• Documenting Sources: MLA Style - MLA in-text citations, list of works cited, information notes, manuscript format, and a sample paper. From http://www.dianahacker.com/
• EasyBib - Fill in online form and site will generate standard bibliographic citations. Only MLA Style is free.
• Frequently Asked Questions about the MLA Style - Official MLA site.
• MLA Parenthetical Documentation - From St. Cloud State University.
• Son of Citation Machine - Fill in online form and site will generate standard bibliographic and in-text citations.
• MLA Citation Examples – Posted by Honolulu Community College Library
• MLA Citation Examples – Posted by Long Island University
• MLA Citation Guide from Ohio State University
• I particularly like what they have to say about citing electronic sources (i.e. the Internet)
• Electronic Resources

All for now...