Practice Safe Writing!
Citing the works of authors that you use to form your own research is a critical part of the writing and research process. Citation provides evidence to back up our own ideas and statement. It demonstrates where our work fits into the greater body of knowledge. And it gives proper credit where credit is due.
Read these best practices to avoid accidental plagiarism and check out these proper paraphrasing techniques.
Cornell University's Plagiarism Tutorial and Code of Academic Integrity
Online Citation Guides
- Duke University Library: Citing SourcesContains detailed MLA, APA, Turabian, CSE, and Chicago examples.
- The Chicago Manual of Style Online17th ed.
Chapter 14: Notes and Bibliography.
Chapter 15: Author-Date References.
[CUL subscription online access. Access to the 16th ed. is also available online as part of our subscription.] - The MLA Style CenterSee Works Cited: A Quick Guide for detailed examples. Not a style guide. Introduces the concepts of Core Elements and Containers and uses a conceptual approach to citation that should help when citing sources not covered by examples in the MLA Handbook, 8th edition.
- APA Style Blog--7th editionAPA Style Blog for the 6th edition [archived]
Handy help with good explanations of and solutions for knotty APA citation situations. - AP [Associated Press] Stylebook Online[CUL subscription access]
- Citing US Government Documents in MLA and APALibGuide created by Lynn Thitchener.
- Special Formats: Images(MLA, Chicago, and APA examples from Colgate University Visual Resources Library)
- Special Formats: Social Media(MLA [7th ed.] and APA examples from Sage).
Citation guides for the physical sciences available online
- Scientific Style and Format8th ed. [CUL subscription, online access]
- American Chemical Society (ACS) style.(Williams College Library).
- IEEE Citation Reference.Link opens as PDF.
- IEEE Style LibGuide.(Murdoch University Library)
Saving time in citing sources
How to save time in citing sources
In the process of doing research, you will encounter a multitude of resources including books, articles, and websites. Keeping all of these organized as you progress, and ultimately creating a bibliography using a particular citation style can be a daunting and time-consuming task.
But no fear, citation management help is here! With a relatively easy-to-use tool, you will be able to organize and save the resources you find. And with virtually the click of a button, you will be able to generate bibliographies in nearly any citation style.
There are a number of citation management tools available to Cornell students and compatible with many of the databases you'll be using. Visit the citation management help page to get started. It only takes a few minutes to set up an account with such tools as Zotero and Mendeley. Endnote may also be downloaded for free by students in CALS and students in CHE.
To learn how to use these and other citation management tools, consider a workshop at Mann Library or Olin Library.
Image credit: Tony Hammon, from Flickr at https://flic.kr/p/fHKmRP
Citing Goverment Sources
Citing legislative documents and government sources can sometimes be challenging. For a thorough guide to citing these use the How to Cite US Government Documents in APA Citation Style Guide.