Why is it important to cite your sources?

Your authority as a thinker and writer is enhanced when you demonstrate your ability to engage in a conversation with the words and ideas of others. By using and integrating outside sources in a fair and attentive manner, you demonstrate that you have carefully researched and considered your topic. Your reader sees not only your ideas alone but also your points contextualized by the conversations of others. In this way, you establish yourself as one member of an intellectual community. A key component of properly integrating outside sources is also citing them appropriately. In this module, we’ll also examine documentation styles and learn about how to use both in-text and end-of-paper citations.