LANG 1406 Academic English for Business Studies

So, what is a citation? Click "Start" to find out.  (2 min 16 sec)

Some Reasons Why Scholars Cite  

1. To provide credibility and strengthen my argument (my opinions are supported from authoritative authors/papers in the field).
2. To embody concepts or methods (instead of describing how to determine a protein, I cite the paper which gives the detailed methodology, and focus on my own addition to knowledge).
3. To give credit for ideas and show the reader where to go for a further elaboration.
4. Scholarship as conversation: similar to an ongoing conversation, communities of scholars cite original sources (support or contrast), build upon previous research, and add new interpretations over time to advance human knowledge. However, avoid finding sources just to support/prove your predisposition.

Note: You need to cite sources in your writing if you use someone else's ideas, data, methodologies, illustrations, etc.; it does not matter what format they are in.

To refresh you on this issue in SDL 2 of LANG 1406!

When you want to use the ideas and words of others to strengthen the points that you are making in your own writing, you must indicate this to your reader. This is part of the reason why you need to cite appropriately whenever you use someone else's work to support yours.

Plagiarism is when you present someone else's work or ideas as your own, and it can be accidental or intentional. Students, academics and business people who are caught plagiarizing, face serious consequences such as failure, dismissal and legal action.

Plagiarism can be:

• Copying someone's words without giving them credit;
• Using someone's ideas or concepts without giving them credit;
• Misrepresenting someone's ideas or concepts;
• Copying images or music without permission or without proper attribution;
• Citing incorrectly by citing the wrong source or having incomplete or inaccurate citations;
• Failing to acknowledge the contribution of others in work produced collaboratively.

You will learn more about what is plagiarism and how to avoid it in the Self-Directed Learning Unit 2 of LANG 1406.