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English 001 (Cobb) Social Reform: Citing Sources

MLA Handout

Tips for Citing Sources

It's important to make sure you collect all the information you need to cite a source as you gather your information so that you won’t need to look it up again, so:

  • Take clear, accurate notes about where you found specific ideas

  • Write down the complete citation information for each book, article, etc. you use as you go along

  • Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words

  • Always credit original authors for their information and ideas

Noodle Tools

Noodle Tools offer direct export from our most popular databases. Look for the "Cite" or "Export" button and select Noodle Tools to export. 

EBSCO database

ClickonQuotationMarks

ExporttoNoodleTools

Gale eBooks

Gale eBooks citation export

Gale NoodleTools Option on the Left

ProQuest

Export to NoodleTools fourth to the right

Also look for the cite button in JSTOR, InfoBase, and Films on Demand.

You Quote It, You Cite It!

Student at Computer

You Quote It, You Cite It! is Las Positas Library's adaptation of the Acadia University Library's tutorial on avoiding plagiarism.  Click here to take the tutorial.

Avoid Plagiarism

Definition: To plagiarize means to try to pass off another person’s words, work, information or ideas as our own, without giving them credit.

 

Intentional Plagiarism

Sometimes plagiarism is committed on purpose. For instance, a student turning in an entire paper that he or she didn’t write, or cutting and pasting huge pieces of information from an online source into a paper without acknowledging the original source of information. 

 

Unintentional Plagiarism

Unintentional plagiarism can occur when students aren’t aware of everything that must be cited. For instance, while most students know they must give credit for using someone's exact words, some are unaware they must also give credit for using someone’s ideas...even if they have put those ideas into their own words.   Unintentinal plagiarism can also occur when students don’t keep track of their source material, so that by the time they return to their notes they cannot distinguish between what information they came to on their own, and what information came from an outside source.