Tips for citing your sources
In academic work, we often cite the thoughts or words of others. This means we make a reference in our work to someone else's work and we document the various sources we found and used.
Check out these tips for citing your sources:
- Always cite when you quote, paraphrase, or summarize someone else's ideas.
- At university, you do your best work, in a paper, a presentation, or a research poster, when you reflect on how your ideas have been shaped by the work of others, including those considered experts in any given topic.
- Citing is mainly done by following certain rules or conventions called citation styles. The most widely used styles are:
- APA (used in the social sciences and in many management courses)
- MLA (often used in English courses and the humanities);
- and Chicago (used in various academic disciplines, especially history).
- Talk to your instructors about citation. They can tell you which styles to follow for particular courses.
- Double check the course outlines your instructors give you at the beginning of term. Course outlines often have information about which citation style to follow.
- Check out the Library's Citing Guide below, or visit the Library's Research Help or Writing Centre for support.