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Citation Styles: Home

Introduction to Citation

Citation is the process of giving credit to the sources used in a paper or presentation.

It is used for a number of reasons

  • to acknowledge another's idea
  • to differentiate your own ideas from others
  • to increase your own credibility by drawing on another's authority
  • to help your reader find your sources
  • to avoid plagiarism

These general ideas about citation are true across different styles, but different disciplines (subjects) use different styles. Styles are sets of rules for how a paper should look, and these rules vary a little bit by the style. The most commonly used styles at Valencia are: APA, Chicago, and MLA.

Citation: A (Very) Brief Introduction

West Campus Librarian

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