ShmoopTube

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Citation Methods, a la Shmoop. “Citation.” The word itself sounds cold

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and foreboding.

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But it’s not as bad as it sounds. Not unless this guy is leaving one for you underneath [officer tickets a car in no parking zone]

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your windshield wiper. Citations are… pure and simple… a way

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to give credit where credit is due. [guy hands money to girl behind 'Knowledge R Us' counter]

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You can quote whoever or whatever you like within a paper…[student steals words from Shakespeare's mouth]

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…but if you don’t cite your work, you’re basically giving the impression that those

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thoughts or ideas are your own.

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The great writers and philosophers of our time probably have better things to do than

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sue you for using their words in a high school essay…[student with 'best writer ever' sign around neck]

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…but they still wouldn’t love you slinging their ideas about willy-nilly, without giving

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them props. Besides, what if your teacher hates a particular

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idea? [teacher hands paper back to student]

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It’s much nicer when you’re able to blame it on Nietzsche.

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But honestly, it all boils down to integrity.

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Citing sources is the right and decent thing to do.

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You know in your heart that stealing someone’s work is no less of a crime than stealing any

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of their physical possessions.

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Just like you would never dream of pirating a song or movie online. [kinds watching tv in pirate outfits]

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Is that a siren we hear…? But if your conscience isn’t strong enough

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to help you avoid the transgression…[conscience getting squished by large boot]

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…just stop and consider how failing to cite could negatively affect you.

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You could be accused of plagiarism.

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Yeah, there are some real jerks out there who plagiarize knowingly…

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…hoping to pass off someone else’s genius as their own…[vaccum cleaner sucks brain out of Einstein]

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…but if you forget to cite or cite incorrectly, you could be in just as deep doo-doo. [student fall into a prison cell full of dodo]

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There are three main citation formats… MLA, APA and Chicago/Turabian

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style.

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You don’t have to use them all. Instead, check with your teacher and ask which style

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they want you to use.

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If they ask you to use all three, they probably have a real sadistic streak.

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Check for a cat o’ nine tails hanging on the classroom wall. If you see one, high-tail

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it out of there. There are subtle differences between the three

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styles, so make sure you know the one you’re using backwards and forwards.

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For example, every method will ask for the basics, like name, title, publisher and year…

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…but the style you’re using will determine what order you should list them in. [order shuffles depending on whether it's AMA, MLA or Chicago]

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And keep in mind that there are different ways of citing, depending on the citation

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method you’re using…

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…not only in your bibliography, or list of works being cited…

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…but within the text itself. [example of correct citation]

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If you find yourself getting agitated by this process, just breathe deeply and then recite

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this simple rhyme:

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Rules, Rules are so much fun! Rules are fun for everyone!

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Count yourself fortunate that you live in this magical age of online information. [wizard makes a computer desktop appear]

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There is plenty of reference management software that can help you to create bibliographies,

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for example…

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…so it isn’t such a pain in the neck, and you don’t have to worry about goofing. [goofy enters screen]

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We know you can’t learn everything about citation in a short little video…

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…so if you’re interested in learning more… and why wouldn’t you be…

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…check out this awesome resource.

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They didn’t even pay us to say that. So know your citation style, and stick to

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it.

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Be careful out there… essay writing can be a dangerous business.

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Honestly, wearing a helmet may not be such a bad idea.

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