We encourage you to use all of our resources for help in writing your own great papers, just remember to cite your sources.

When to Cite a Source

While there are certainly times that people intentionally cheat, you might be surprised to learn that plagiarism is often accidental or inadvertent.  That is because many people do not know when they should cite a source.  Here are times when you should definitely cite a source:

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  1. If you are providing a direct quotation.  Obviously, if you are using resources for your paper, you are going to be using some of the same words that you find in your source material, and you do not need to cite every word you use.  However, if you are picking up a unique combination of words from the source material or even using a single word that is unique to a source, make sure and cite your source.
  2. If you are pulling facts, including statistics, from a source.  A good way to gauge this is to consider whether information would be considered common knowledge; if not, go ahead and cite it.
  3. If you are pulling a unique idea, explanation, or interpretation from the source, cite it, even if you are paraphrasing the information.
  4. If you use the same plan or structure as a source.  This can be important to keep in mind for Paperdue.com example essays, because you may follow example structures.

How to Cite a Paperdue.com Essay or Article 

Here we will show you how to cite our example essay, How to Create a Good Literature Review, available from https://www.paperdue.com/tools-for-writing/creating-a-good-literature-review, in three of the most popular citation styles: APA, MLA, and Chicago.

The Paperdue.com website is owned by Electronic Inspiration, LLC., which is important information to have when citing your sources.

Examples:

APA

Electronic Inspiration, LLC.  (n.d.).  How to create a good literature review.  Retrieved August 19, 2019, from: https://www.paperdue.com/tools-for-writing/creating-a-good-literature-review

MLA

Electronic Inspiration, LLC.  “How to Create a Good Literature Review.”  Paperdue.com.  https://www.paperdue.com/tools-for-writing/creating-a-good-literature-review.  Accessed 19 August 2019.

Chicago

Electronic Inspiration, LLC.  “How to Create a Good Literature Review.”  Paperdue.com.  Accessed August 19, 2019.  https://www.paperdue.com/tools-for-writing/creating-a-good-literature-review

Now that you know the basic format for citing a Paperdue.com essay in each of the three major academic styles, you can easily substitute in other articles.  Just be sure to include the correct title, the link to that example essay, and the date you retrieve the essay!

Take the first step to becoming a better academic writer.