Robert S. Swanson Library and Learning Center
Textbooks ArchivesWhen writing a research paper you support your thoughts by pointing to other research written on the topic. This shows you’ve researched your topic, you’re aware of the experts in that area, and you know what you’re talking about.
You need to cite sources for several reasons:
You can either directly quote what a source has written, or you can reword the idea and paraphrase the text. Either way, you need to acknowledge the source you used with an in-text citation and also as an entry in a reference list.