How to Avoid Plagiarism: Citing Your Sources

Having collected the information written by the best essay writing service, you can adapt to any citation style required by your professor. For more information on how to cite your sources, check the university handout or website as some provide guidelines for students. Otherwise, you have to include that in your research. You can buy or borrow books from the library on various citation styles like MLA, APA, Harvard, and Chicago/Turabian. The internet is also a rich source for guidelines on various citation styles like The Owl at Purdue for MLA and APA. You can also check The University of Queensland's Harvard citation guideline which is also available for download. The Ohio State University provides Turabian Citation Guide that you can also use. These are only samples of citation guidelines you can use as reference in citing your sources. You must note the source you used as citation reference so should your professor question you about them, you can justify it. Always remember, however, that it is best to consult with your professor first as to particular preferences they may have regarding the format and specifics on citation styles.

One of the most important purposes of citing your sources is so your professor or anybody who reads your paper can have access to these sources. This can be to double check your claim or should they want to read more about the topic. Thus, it is essential to double check your bibliography entries and your inline / in-text citations (found within the body of your paper) or footnotes / endnotes before submitting your paper.

Short Direct Quote – These are views of the author/s copied verbatim which must be enclosed in quotation marks (“”) and ends with a footnote/endnote number or parenthetical citation like (Smith 125) or (Combs, 2006, p. 73). Always remember, if you used three or more words from your source that must be treated as direct quote. Failing to enclose them in quotation mark will render it as a plagiarized work even if you cite your source/s at the end of the paragraph.

Long Direct Quote – As with the previous item, this involves words lifted from a source that exceeds three (3) lines. This will not be enclosed in quotation marks but must be indented so they will be properly identified from the rest of your paper and likewise ends with proper citation. Use this sparingly as using too many long direct quotes from sources is a sign of laziness or it shows that you do not understand your topic well enough to even rephrase them.

Rephrased Sentences / Views / Concept – These are those that you rephrased or presented using your own words. This is usually where accidental plagiarism takes place as some thought it is okay not to cite the source as long as you do not use the exact words. Using your own words does not make you own the idea , even as you combine them with ideas from other sources. Combining ideas using different sources would entail citing both or all the sources used. With plagiarism, the issue is not only the words used but the idea or concept as well.

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