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Citation Style Guides

Citation Style Manuals

What is Plagarism?

One of the most serious academic offenses is plagiarism. It is essential to cite your sources! #WabashAlwaysCites 

Academic Honesty

According to the Wabash Academic Honesty Guide, Academic Honesty is "an application of the Gentleman's Rule in your scholarly work," (p.4). The guide provides the following definitions:

Plagiarism: you have plagiarized if you have not clearly and correctly indicated when you are using ideas or information from a source other than yourself. Note that it is possible to unintentionally plagiarize. If you are ever in doubt, cite!

Quotation: When you quote, you are copying the exact words of someone else into your paper and marking their boundaries clearly with quotation marks. You are always required to include an in-text citation or footnote (depending on which citation style is appropriate for the paper) when you quote. An entry in the Works Cited or Bibliography page is not enough.

Paraphrase: When you paraphrase something, you put someone else's idea or information into your own words. As with quotation, you are always required to include an in-text citation or footnote when you paraphrase. An entry in the Works Cited or Bibliography is not enough.

Summary: When you summarize a source, you  give an overall sense of that source's argument or idea. Summary is especially useful when you are trying to describe the main point of a long piece of work, like a book or sophisticated article, in a short space. Be sure to clearly indicate in the text of your paper the author and title of the work you are summarizing.

Citation: To cite a source is to indicate that you are drawing on the source in this particular part of your paper. All sources must be cited. Citations come in many forms, depending on your discipline, but the most common are in-text parenthetical citations and footnotes.

MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style, etc.: These are all different citation styles that are used by different disciplines. You should always check with the professor to see which style is appropriate.

Citation Management Tools

Citing sources can create a lot of extra work. Make your life easier by using citation management tools!

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