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Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) - Solving Global Challenges (SGC): Cite Your Work!

Why Cite?

It is important to cite your sources in order to:

  1. Show your reader that you have done your research
  2. Give credit to authors included in your argument
  3. Avoid plagiarism
  4. Provide your readers with a way to locate your sources

All citations should include the same basic information: author, article title, source title, volume and issue, publication date, and page number(s). 

Citations should be formatted according to the specific citation style, determined by your academic discipline or your professor. Purdue OWL is a good resource for formatting your citations and papers, and can also be used to double-check the format of citations retrieved from databases.

A citation manager will help you keep track of resources (books, articles, images -- anything!) and will also help you make a bibliography in any citation format. Citation managers will keep you organized and can save you a lot of time.

See the research guide "Citation Tools" for more in-depth information on citation management, formatting a citation, and how to get started using citation management software.

There are a few citation managers to choose from, including Zotero, an open-source desktop and web tool that can help you with annotating, organizing, and citing articles, books, and more.

If you're not ready to use a full-fledged citation management tool, Zotero has a quick-access version for short-term use called ZoteroBib. While we recommend learning Zotero eventually — especially by the time you start doing complex projects — it's a good tool to start out with.

Any source in your academic papers should include citations -- not just the ones that are scholarly! Here are some quick rules for citing social media sources using MLA 8:

Facebook

Works cited: Last name, first name of the individual/organization. "Text from Facebook post." Facebook. Date posted, time posted, URL.

In-text citation: (Author's Last Name or Account Name)

Instagram

Works cited: Last name, first name, or username of the individual/organization. "Photo title or description.* Instagram. Date photo was published, URL.

In-text citation: (@username)

*If there is no title or description, describe the image to the best of your ability.

Reddit

Works cited: Last name, first name, or username of the individual/organization. "Thread title." Reddit. Date posted, time posted, URL.

In-text citation: (@username)

Twitter

Works cited: @username. "Text from tweet." Twitter. Date posted, time posted, URL.

In-text citation: (@username)

YouTube

Works cited: Last name, first name, or username of the individual/organization. "Title of video." YouTube. Date posted, URL.

In-text citation: (Author's Last Name or Account Name)

Plagiarism Resources

Citation Style Guides