The reasons we cite the work of others, in term papers and scientific papers, is to give credit to the work of others, to add authority to our claim (we aren’t just saying this off the top of our heads – someone did a careful study), and to be honest about our own contribution and role.  Any substantial claim or argument that you make, if it evolved directly out of your reading of the works of others, should be cited.

Citation style is explained below.

A perennial problem we all face is, how much to paraphrase, or rearrange the words of others.  Often the original author stated her/his case well -- so why re-word it?  You can keep the exact wording, but if you quote a sentence or paragraph directly, put that material in quotes, and add the citation.  Usually you "offset" the quote.

        "The rain in Spain makes a stain" (Jones 1937).

Usually, you will re-word the original material as you blend it into your own writing style.  Then skip the quotation marks but keep the citation.  (Stains often are encountered in Spain after rain [Jones 1937]).  No sensible essay is simply a string of quotes, so re-structuring of source material is common.

What if you repeat a few words or a phrase?  This is a gray area.  In scientific writing, which puts a premium on a concise style, there may be only so many ways to say the same basic idea.  Don't worry about "lifting" a few words, if they are largely embedded in your own sentence, and you cite Jones (1937).

Finally, there is, regrettably, intentional plagiarism.   When someone takes a large amount of material, word-for-word, from another source, and does not cite the source, they are presenting someone else's work as their own, and this is a serious offense.  Fortunately it is rare.  We do wish to point out that experienced graders usually can spot these instances quickly.  Web search engines allow us to search out key phrases, and in the past we have easily found the original source, with serious consequences for the offender.
 

Citation Styles

Citing Web Sources:
Harnack, Andrew and Gene Kleppinger.  “Beyond the MLA Handbook:  Documenting Electronic Sources on the Internet”.  1996. <http://www.falcon.eku.edu/honors/beyond-mla/#citing_sites> (3 December 1997)

The last revision was 1996.  I visited the site on 3 December 1997.

This document gives more specific protocols for FTP sites, Telnet sites, etc etc.  You can check it out if you wish, but the above format for WWW sites should cover most of your needs.

Format For Literature Citations:
Literature citations should follow the format below.  For references not listed, refer to:
CBE Style Manual Committee (CBE). 1983. Council of Biology Editors Style Manual: A Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. Council of Biology Editors, Bethesda, MD.

A journal or magazine article:
Bryant, P.J., and P. Simpson. 1984. Intrinsic and extrinsic control of growth in developing organs. Quart. Rev. Biol. 59: 387-415.

Jones, G., Hanton S., & Connaughton, D. 2002. What is this thing called mental toughness? An investigation of elite sport performers. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14: 205-218.

A book:
Ling, G.N. 1984. In Search of the Physical Basis of Life. Plenum Press, New York.

Chapter in book:
Southwood, T.R.E. 1981. Bionomic strategies and population parameters. Pages 30-52 in R.M. May, ed. Theoretical Ecology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.

Technical report:
Lassiter, R. R., and J.L. Cooley. 1983. Prediction of ecological effects of toxic chemicals, overall strategy and theoretical basis for the ecosystem model. EPA-600/3-83-084. National Technical Information Service PB 83-261-685, Springfield, VA.

Newspaper article:
Bishop, J.E. Do flies spread ills or is that claim merely a bugaboo? The Wall Street Journal. 1982 Nov. 4:1 (col. 4), 23 (col. 1).

Personal communication:
Jones, M.R. 30 February 1996.  Personal communication.