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Why cite sources? Citing sources gives your work credibility. It shows you have not stolen someone else's ideas or research (plagiarism.) It also indicates you have produced a work of scholarship. Using legitimate sources and crediting them properly demonstrates academic integrity.
St.Louis Community College subscribes to a service called turnitin.com which allows faculty to check student papers for plagiarism.
Often instructors will require the use of only peer-reviewed periodical articles. This means scholars working in a particular field will read and check articles for accuracy, currency, etc. before they are published in a journal. Some periodicals databases, i.e. Academic Search Elite, have a box you can check to narrow your search to only peer-reviewed journals. Many periodicals databases have a clickable icon with each article which produces a box containing the article's citation in several formats, i.e. MLA, APA, etc. Using the specific format required by your instructor, you can simply copy and paste the citation into your document. However, make sure it is in the proper format; not all are. Often the spacing will be incorrect. You can go to the sample citation page for MLA style to format your citation properly:
Professional organizations such as the Modern Language Association produce their own formats in their own manuals. When an assignment requires the use of a particular format, it is important to note the edition number of the manual and use the edition specified in the assignment. If no edition is specified, use the most recent edition.
St. Louis Community College Libraries |
Florissant Valley Campus Library |
Forest Park Campus Library |
Meramec Campus Library |
Wildwood Campus Library |
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