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Citing Sources
What
does it mean to "cite" a source?
It means that you show, within the body of your text, that you
took the words/ideas/figures from another place.
How do I cite?
Use the citation styles as directed by your professor.
Examples of APA and MLA styles can be found in The
Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing (MIT
only).
Other online
style manuals are also available.
Whatever
style you use, follow the guidelines accurately and consistently
- form and punctuation count.
What must be cited?
a)
all facts, figures, statistics that are not common knowledge
example:
Silver prices reached a nine-year high of $7.28 an ounce on February
5, 1998. Some analysts predict it will go to $10.00 an ounce in
the next two months (Fuerbringer D1).
This must be cited, as it is not general knowledge. For guidelines on citing electronic data files, see Citing Data.
b) specific theories or ideas that have been put forth by another
person
example:
It is not the poor pronunciation of discrete vowel and consonant
sounds that interferes with communication so much as the use of
the wrong intonation and stress patterns (Gilbert, 1994, p. 21).
c) any specific information that is NOT general knowledge
example:
It is estimated that death from gunfire will soon take over from
car accidents as the number one cause of traumatic death in America
(Davidson, 1998, p.A31).
(APA style is used in the above citations.)
The
best policy is: when in doubt as to whether something is common
knowledge or not, cite your source.
What
must not be cited?
Anything
that is common knowledge does not need to be cited.
example:
The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776.
This is common knowledge, and does not need to be cited.
If
you have questions about plagiarism or citing sources, Ask Us! or contact the MIT
Writing Center.
Much of the material for the sections on Citing Sources was written by Patricia Brennecke.
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