Anyone who has gone to high school or college is somewhat familiar with the process of writing a research paper. Some parts of the essay process like research, formatting, and writing can be fairly labor-intensive. We all have some academic memories of long hours spent in libraries or online, sifting through articles, journals and books to discover the perfect research that supports our paper's thesis.
One often overlooked but particularly laborious part of the paper writing process can be citing our sources in the proper format. After we finally reach the point of completing the research and execution phases of an essay, going back through that research and making the proper citations can be a huge hassle. This means finding every single word, phrase, and idea that did not come from your own creative mind and providing credit where it is due.
Despite the trouble, citing your sources is an incredibly important step to prevent potential plagiarism. The primary line that distinguishes plagiarized material from borrowed material is utilizing citations to give the proper attribution to the authors of the works. Citations tell your readers that the words or ideas they are reading are not originally yours; they in fact come from another source. The citation also tells your readers how to find that source, whether it be online or in a published journal.
Plagiarism poses a big risk to any student, journalist, or academic scholar. One simple mistake of forgoing to cite a source can lead to harsh repercussions, including expulsions and firings. It's simply not worth forgoing proper citations. Although it takes some time and research to make sure all your sources are given credit, doing so is due diligence that needs to take place to avoid a case of student plagiarism.
However, citing your sources is not simply a preventative measure to avoid getting in trouble with plagiarism. Citations also are a great way to foster innovation and creativity within your paper writing process. Although many people leave the citation work to the end of their process, it can be extremely helpful to cite sources while doing the actual research and writing.
Citations are essentially 'links' to all the sources that are constructing the foundation of your paper's thesis. Putting in the research to cite this information framework can provide more ammunition to support your paper's thesis. Not only will you be able to better understand the works you are building on, but your network of citations may provide you with further fuel to create your own unique work.
In other words: building on other people's ideas (and properly citing them) can only help you strengthen your own ideas.
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