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Contributor: Elephango Editors. Lesson ID: 10479
Learn how to avoid plagiarism by paraphrasing, quoting, and citing sources correctly. Discover why giving credit matters and how to create a proper Works Cited page.
Movie Quote Quiz – Who Said That?
Imagine you’re watching your favorite movie, and a character says a famous line like, “To infinity… and beyond!”
Test your memory! Match these famous movie quotes to the characters who said them.
Because it’s important to give credit to the right person when using someone else’s words.
The same goes for research—when you use information from a book, article, or website, you must give credit to the original author. That’s where citations come in!
What Is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism happens when you use someone else’s ideas or words and pretend they are your own. This can happen on purpose or by accident, but either way, it’s not okay.
To avoid plagiarism, you need to understand three key terms.
Think of it this way.
You’d return it to the owner. When you borrow information, you must give credit to the source!
How to Cite Sources
When using a direct quote (someone’s exact words), you must give credit in one of two ways.
Jennifer Smith explains that "sea turtles return to the same beach every year to lay their eggs."
Sea turtles "return to the same beach every year to lay their eggs" (Smith).
Both ways give credit to Jennifer Smith for her research.
At the end of your research paper, you will include a Works Cited page listing all your sources in alphabetical order.
How to Write a Works Cited Page
When writing a research paper, you need a Works Cited page at the end. This page lists all the sources you used to find information.
Think of it as a thank-you list for the authors and experts whose work helped you!
Your Works Cited page should follow these guidelines.
It is the last page of your research paper.
It lists sources in alphabetical order by the author's last name.
It uses a specific format depending on the type of source (book, website, article, etc.).
Basic Citation Format for a Book
Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year.
Johnson, Emily. Exploring the Rainforest. Greenleaf Publishing, 2022.
Basic Citation Format for a Website
Author’s Last Name, First Name (if available). “Title of the Article or Page.” Name of Website, Publisher (if different from website name), Date published, URL.
Harris, Michael. “The Science of Volcanoes.” National Geographic Kids, 10 Mar. 2021, www.natgeokids.com.
Basic Citation Format for a Magazine or Newspaper Article
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of the Article.” Name of Magazine or Newspaper, Date published, Page numbers (if available).
Martinez, Lisa. “Saving Our Oceans.” Science Today, 5 June 2020, pp. 12-15.
Basic Citation Format for an Encyclopedia or Reference Book
“Title of the Article or Entry.” Title of the Encyclopedia, edited by Editor’s Name, Volume number, Publisher, Year, Page numbers.
“Dolphins.” The Animal Encyclopedia, edited by Mark Jones, vol. 3, Nature Press, 2018, pp. 45-47.
Final Checklist for Your Works Cited Page
| √ | Double-space all entries. | |
| √ | Use a hanging indent (the first line of each entry is at the margin, and the rest are indented). | |
| √ | List sources alphabetically. |
With this information, you can properly credit your sources and avoid plagiarism!
Now, head to the Got It? section to test out your new knowledge.
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