Using Citations.

A final note about the presentation of evidence involves using citations (also called "quotes"). Strictly put, a citation or quote is, "...A reference to a book, article, web page, or other published item, with sufficient detail to identify the item uniquely." (Wikipedia, 2008) Citations can also come from public speeches, television programs, films, the Internet, audio recordings, and other sources, as long as the source is given "credit," that is, the source is adequately identified for the reader.

Failure to identify citations constitutes plagiarism (claiming the words or thoughts of another as one's own), which is highly discouraged throughout the academic and professional worlds and should be avoided at all costs. When in doubt, the writer should cite a source. It is better for an author to use too many citations than to be academically or professionally dishonest. There are two types of citations that are commonly used, the direct quotation and paraphrased material.

Direct quotations. Direct quotations used in the text must be indicated with quotation marks ("..."). Within these marks, the author will place the excerpted material that supports of his or her arguments. At the end of the quotation, a reference should be given as to where the information originated.

Paraphrasing. Paraphrasing involves using material derived from another source, restated in the author's own words. It is important to remember that these rewordings are not the author's own original ideas and the source should be cited, just as though it were a direct quotation.

In either case, the method of crediting the source can take many forms. Footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical citations are the most common ways of giving credit.

Footnotes. Footnotes are indicated in the body of the text by a superscripted, sequential number immediately following the direct quotation or paraphrase, with a corresponding numbered entry at the bottom of the page on which the citation appears.

Endnotes. Endnotes also use a superscripted, sequential number, but the corresponding entry appears at the end of the chapter, section, or work in a special section entitled "End Notes."

Parenthetical citations. Parenthetical citations appear in the text immediately following the cited material inside a set of parentheses (...). The parentheses, "...include abbreviated source information (for example, author and page number)... This is supplemented by complete source information in a list of Works Cited, References, or Bibliography at the end of the paper." (Wikipedia, 2008)