Source citations (the citation that goes at the end of the paper on a Work Cited page) are written using a specific order of core elements. The core elements are things like: author, title of source, publisher, publication date.

The core elements are always arranged in a specific order. Sometimes you might not know what all of the elements are. That's okay! However, it's reasonable to say that a realiable source has at least four of the elements.

The container refers to the times when a source exists within another source. Sometimes that's a website (YouTube, Discovery.com, etc.). Sometimes that's a magazine or a newspaper. Sometimes it's a social media site (Insta, Twitter). And sometimes it's somewhere you might go like a museum or art exhibit.

Reasons why an accurate source citation is important:

• It gives credit to the author, artist, or creator of the work.

• It helps other people find the work.

• Avoids plagiarism.

• It allows you to evaluate the source for bias and reliability.

Watch this video to learn how to use the Google Docs tool that will help writers format the source citations correctly. It will provide a brief overview of the Citation Maker and also show students how to cite a print copy of a book.

Length of video: 4:28 

In addition to specific way a source citation gets formated, a Works Cited page has rules too. Watch this video to learn how to format your Works Cited page correctly in Google Docs.

Length of video: 4:45