The comment: Cite your sources

THE COMMENT: Cite your sources

SIMILAR COMMENTS: Source? • Whose words? • Document

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understanding the comment When readers point out that you need to “cite your sources,” the comment often signals that you need to acknowledge and give proper credit to the contributions of others.

strategies for revising

  • Reread your sentence and ask questions. Have you properly acknowledged all the contributions—words, ideas, facts, or visuals—that you use as evidence? Have you given credit to the sources you quote, summarize, or paraphrase? Have you made it clear to readers how to locate the source if they want to consult it?
  • Ask your instructor which documentation style you are required to use—MLA, APA, or Chicago.
  • Revise by including an in-text citation for any words, ideas, facts, or visuals you used as evidence and by using quotation marks around borrowed language from a source.
  • Review advice on citing sources: 54 (MLA), 59 (APA), and 63b (Chicago).