Skip to main content
LibApps staff login

First-Year Composition

For all first-year composition classes: ENG 101, ENG 107, ENG 102, ENG 108, ENG 105.

Step Seven

CITE YOUR SOURCES

Citing or documenting the sources used in your research serves a number of purposes:

  • It credits authors for their work and ideas that you used to write your paper
  • It demonstrates academic integrity by providing context and proving your paper is well-researched
  • It allows your readers to find your sources and learn more about your topic
  • It enables others to further your research and make new discoveries

You should always cite other people's words and ideas that you use in your papers. This includes but isn't limited to books, journal articles, webpages, reports, data, statistics, speeches, lectures, personal interviews, and more. Cite whenever you use a direct quote, summarize or paraphrase ideas, or use uncommon facts or statistics that relate directly to your argument. When other authors cite their sources properly, you can also use their research to enhance your own!

To learn more about citing sources in various citation styles and review examples of citing different source types, visit ASU Library's Citation Guide.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

Academic integrity and plagiarism are concerns of the utmost importance at ASU. This page from the Office of the University Provost has a lot of valuable information about academic integrity.

Academic integrity (or academic honesty) is the foundation of academic life. It helps determine how you should behave in an academic environment when you do research, write a paper, or create a project. The fundamental five values of academic integrity are honesty, trust, respect, fairness, and responsibility. You can learn more about academic integrity by completing ASU Library's Academic Integrity tutorial.

Plagiarism is one aspect of academic dishonesty. It is the act using, stealing, or representing someone else's ideas, words, or products as your own without crediting the author or originator. When using or quoting the works of another person word-for-word, you must use a citation to acknowledge your use. Summarizing or paraphrasing the words or ideas of another without giving that person credit is also considered plagiarism. Learn more about plagiarism and discover strategies for avoiding it by completing ASU Library's Plagiarism Awareness tutorial.

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.