Honors Mini-Conference 2024: Library Resources

Organizing your research can help make the writing and citing process easier. Use tips from this page to guide you in this step. 

Why do we cite? Several reasons! 

1. It makes us look good. Seriously, it's ethical and responsible to help readers differentiate our ideas from those we are using from others.
2. It helps us point our readers to our sources where they can more deeply engage with the scholarly conversation.
3. It helps us to learn how to communicate formally within our discipline/major.
4. We avoid plagiarism by quoting the words or paraphrasing ideas of other scholars.

Long description of "Do I Cite This?" Flowchart for web accessibility

What is considered "common knowledge" can vary within a discipline. When in doubt, cite it or ask your instructor.

FAQs

Do I need to cite another person's ideas even if I paraphrase it in my own words?

• Yes. You need to cite the ides of others whether you paraphrase or quote them directly.

Do I need to include a URL in my citation?

• It depends on your citation style. Please see the official style manual or handbook for guidance.

Where can I learn more about each style?

• Use UC Merced Library's introductory tutorials to get started:

Official Style Manuals

There are many different types of academic and professional writing styles. The four guidebooks below represent some of the major ones. Use these guides to learn how professional researchers and writers prepare their manuscripts for publication or sharing.

For other styles, please search UC Library Search. 

Online Style Resources

Although these resources are not official, they are still credible and very useful! If one of these websites doesn't answer your question, check out the official style guide or contact a librarian for help!

Guides from UC Merced Library