JMS Research Hub - Citing Sources

WHY SHOULD I CITE MY SOURCES?

Citing your sources lets your teacher know where you found your information. You can create citations for websites, books, magazines, newspapers, videos, songs, etc.

WHAT IS A CITATION?
A citation tells important information about your source such as title, author, and publisher.
A list of citations is called a Works Cited or a Bibliography.
Include a citation for a source when you paraphrase information from that source or use a direct quote.

HOW DO I CREATE A CITATION?
If you are using a database from the Online Research Library, databases will give you the citation which you can copy / paste into your Works Cited. This is not considered plagiarism.
If you are using a website, you will need to create the citation yourself using Google docs or a citation generator.

Watch the videos below to learn more about citations and how to format a Works Cited.

How to Create a Citation for a Website Using the Citation Tool in Google Docs:

Google Docs has a built in citation tool that will create a citation based on a web article's URL.

There are different formats for citations. Use the MLA format (Modern Language Association) when creating a citation.

For 8th Graders: You should also include Internal Citations within the text of your document. When you are writing text and want to note where you found that information, put the author's last name in parentheses. Then add a citation in your Works Cited.

How to Format a Works Cited Page in Google Docs:

If you are using the Google Docs citation tool, it will usually insert the citation in correct format. However, if you are copying / pasting a citation from a database, you might need to fix the format.

Reminders:
- Center title Works Cited (no quotes)
- Double space citations
- Citations should be in alphabetical order
- Use hanging indent (first word sticks out to left margin, all other lines are indented)

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