Citation is the formal means by which we credit the work and insights of other folks. Though, for many students, this often appears to be an unnecessarily formal exercise, citation plays an important role in academic communication. While different disciplines have developed different procedural rules for how to format a citation, the goal is ultimately the same – to lead others to those same resources by providing the author, title, publication information, date of the work, and, in the case of a digital resource, a stable URL. The ability to find cited information efficiently allows scholarly conversation to evolve through the medium of the text -- it's how scholars talk to one another.
You’ll find links to several citation resources below, but it’s also important to remember that citation benefits not only the reader, but the writer, as well. Here’s how…
Ultimately, citation isn’t just about fulfilling a requirement. Instead, it’s a means of demonstrating that our work is thorough, well-researched, and, hopefully, convincing to our reader.