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Why and When to Cite
Why to Cite:
- Give credit to the authors of the sources you used.
- Provide evidence you did research -- good, credible sources give your work more authority.
- Allows your reader to locate the sources you used.
- Avoid plagiarism.
When to Cite:
You should cite a source if you reproduce, quote, paraphrase, or summarize ideas and/or media created by other individuals. When in doubt, cite!
Citation Style: MLA
Many of the article databases that NOVA subscribes to will provide citations. These citations should be carefully checked for accuracy. You can also ask a librarian for help, or consult the websites listed below:
Using Sources
There are three main ways to use sources:
1. Summarize/Paraphrase:
The first example below uses a regular in-text citation with the author’s last name and page number. The second uses a signal phrase to introduce the author in the sentence and lists the page number at the end.
Auditory hallucinations are a symptom of severe Schizophrenia (Wilson 59).
Psychologist Cedric Wilson states that auditory hallucinations are a symptom of severe Schizophrenia (59).
2. Direct Quote:
Use direct quotes only when necessary. Always try to write in your own words instead. One way to limit use of quotations, is to quote only partial sentences. Both examples below are correct, but the second is better.
“Girls are the future mothers of our society, and it is important that we focus on their well-being” (Makebe 27).
Investing in young girls’ welfare will help us build a stronger nation, because they are “the future mothers of our society” (Makebe 27).
Never force a quote to stand on its own. Always explain what the quote means to your thesis.
3. Block Quote (more than four lines of text or three of poetry)
Unless you are analyzing a piece of literature, do not use a block quote. If you must use a block quote, provide an analysis of what the quote means. Long quotations should be introduced by a sentence explaining what the sentence contributes to your paper. Do not use quotation marks for long quotations, but indent them by ½ inch.
The Fall of the House of Usher opens with dark foreshadowing. Upon his arrival at the house, the narrator feels a deep sense of foreboding:
During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was; but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. (Poe 9)