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Why Do You Need To Cite
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It is a standard part of the Scholarly Communication Process.
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It's there so your readers can locate the sources you consulted in preparing your paper and see them for themselves.
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It demonstrates your research skills and your understanding of the domain knowledge of a specific discipline and acknowledges the work of scholars whose works you have consulted.
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Remember to cite all sources that you used both direct or paraphrased quotations, ideas you learned from your readings and research, images, etc. If done correctly it helps you avoid plagiarism.
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A direct quotation is when you take another person’s words and place them in your document.
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In MLA short quotations are four typed lines of prose or three lines of verse, They are placed in double quotation marks in the body of your essay.
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In MLA long quotations are greater than four typed lines of prose or three lines of verse. They are placed in a free-standing block of text and without quotation marks.
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Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented 1.27 cm (1/2 inch) from the left margin while maintaining double spacing.
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Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.
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When quoting verse, maintain original line breaks.
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Include all sources that you paraphrased
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Cite sources that you have borrowed - ideas from, images, charts, data, etc
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Common knowledge such as the sky is blue does not need to be cited.
Remember the golden rule: When in doubt, just cite.
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