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 sources

Citations should be formatted according to the specific citation style, determined by your academic discipline or your professor. All citations include the same basic information: author, article title, source title, volume and issue, publication date, and page number(s).

Use Purdue OWL as a guide both for formatting your papers as well as for double-checking the format of your citations.

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.

There are a few citation managers to choose from, including: