Notes on

Internal
Documentation
Different Methods of Citing
Sources in Your Research
Paper.

The Importance of Citing Your

Sources

When you write your research

paper, be sure to give credit
to the sources that you get
the information from.
(To not do so is to take credit
for ideas or information that is
not your own; it is considered
to be plagiarism.)

The Importance of Citing Your

Sources

One purpose of citations is to

direct readers to the specific
entry on the Works Cited Page.
Following are some different
methods of citing sources in
the document.

Methods of Citing Sources

In Paper
Note: Ideally, you will include
the authors name and page
number.
1. Mention the Author Name in
the Sentence:
According to Armstrong,
. (16).

Methods of Citing Sources

In Paper
2. When the author is not
mentioned in the sentence,
both the authors name and
page number need to be
included in parenthesis at the
end:
All Americans need to
master the complexities of

Methods of Internal
Documentation
3. The idea can be
paraphrased, or put into your
own words. However, the
author and page number still
need to be credited at the
end.
College students have to read
a lot more than high school

Methods of Internal
Documentation
4. The citation and idea can be
embedded (included) in a sentence:
Note: The citation in #4 could come at
the end of the sentence, but students can
also put the citation next to the quoted
material when there is more information
to come in the same sentence.

When you read, you should read

closely (Smith 61-62) like you have
to do when you take EOC exams, AP
exams, and the SAT.

Methods of Internal
Documentation

5. Internet Citations: Internet sources

are cited just like anything else. (Use
the author name and page number.)
Website URLs should not be in the
citationfull URLs should be on the
Works Cited Page.
Example: On Susan Howards new
website, she has a list of books she
thinks high school students should read

Some Other Notes

Paraphrasing: To paraphrase something is
to put the ideas expressed into your own
words. This is useful if you DO need
details from specific sentences but do not
need the exact wording. (Gibaldi 29)
Quotes: When you use a quote, copy the
quotation EXACTLY as it appears, word for
word, comma for comma. (Gibaldi 29)

Some Other Notes

If your source does not mention the
authors name, use the title of the
book or article and the page number.
If the title is too long, use only the
first word or two.
For example:
The Sahara Desert made it difficult for
people in North America to
communicate with people in South
Africa (History 39).

Some Other Notes

Some sources do not use page numbers.
In those cases, just list the author. For
example: In 1635, Ginga formed an
alliance with the kingdoms of Kongo and
Kassange (OShaughnessy).
If a source does not list the author or the
page number, use the title. For
example: People remember her as a
great diplomat, a fierce war leader, and
a strong ruler (Kingdom).

To Plagiarize Is To kidnap Someone Elses

Ideas

A final thought: Plagiarism is derived

from the Latin word plagiarius (kidnapper)
and is defined as the false assumption of
authorship: the wrongful act of taking the
product of another persons mind, and
presenting it as ones own. (Gibaldi 30).
-To use another persons ideas or
expressions in your writing without
acknowledging the source is to plagiarize.
- To avoid this, be careful to take good notes
that distinguish your thoughts from the
ideas that you obtain from others.
- Be sure to write down your source