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English Composition and Rhetoric Unit 5: Research and citation

Research writing combines sources with your own ideas. Citing correctly gives credit and lets readers check your evidence.

Covers: Finding and evaluating sources, paraphrase vs quotation, avoiding plagiarism, MLA and APA basics

Study guide

Research starts with a focused question. Search library databases, academic search engines and reputable websites, using keywords and filters. Primary sources are original materials (data, interviews, speeches, historical documents), and secondary sources analyze them (articles, books). Evaluate each source for credibility, accuracy, currency, relevance and bias before relying on it, and look at what evidence the source itself cites.

You can bring source material into your writing three ways. A direct quotation uses the author's exact words in quotation marks and works best when the wording itself matters. A paraphrase restates a specific idea in your own words and sentence structure, usually at about the same length. A summary condenses the main points of a longer passage. All three need citations. Integrate quotations smoothly with a signal phrase ("According to Smith,") and follow them with your own commentary.

Plagiarism means presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own, whether intentionally or not. It includes copying without quotation marks, paraphrasing too closely (keeping the original's structure with a few words swapped), and leaving out citations. Avoid it by taking careful notes that separate your ideas from your sources', citing as you draft, and checking each paraphrase against the original.

Citation styles credit sources consistently. MLA, common in English and the humanities, uses author-page in-text citations, like (Smith 42), and a Works Cited list. APA, common in the social sciences, uses author-date citations, like (Smith, 2020, p. 42), and a References list. Both list full source details alphabetically at the end.

A Works Cited (MLA) entry lists, in order, the author, the title of the source, the title of the container (such as a journal or website), other contributors, the version, the volume and issue, the publisher, the date, and the location (page numbers, URL or DOI). Being able to name each part helps you check a source and cite it correctly. Chicago style, common in history, often uses numbered footnotes plus a bibliography. In MLA, a source with three or more authors is cited with the first author's name plus "et al." (Garcia et al. 12).

You don't need to cite common knowledge, meaning widely known facts found in many general sources, such as the year World War II ended. You do need to cite specific statistics, interpretations and any wording that isn't yours.

Key ideas

• Use scholarly databases and evaluate sources (CRAAP: currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, purpose).
• Quote when the exact words matter; paraphrase to restate in your own words and structure.
• Every quote and paraphrase needs a citation.
• MLA uses author-page in-text citations: (Smith 42). APA uses author-date: (Smith, 2020, p. 42).
• Plagiarism includes copying without quotes and paraphrasing too closely.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Thinking a paraphrase doesn't need a citation.
• Changing a few words and calling it a paraphrase.

Words to know

Paraphrase

Restating a source's idea in your own words and structure.

MLA in-text citation

(Author page), e.g. (Smith 42).

APA in-text citation

(Author, year), e.g. (Smith, 2020).

Citing paraphrases

Paraphrases need citations, just like quotations.

CRAAP test

Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose.

Primary source

Original material: data, interviews, documents.

Secondary source

Analysis of primary sources: articles, books.

Direct quotation

The author's exact words in quotation marks.

Summary

A condensed version of a source's main points.

Signal phrase

Introduces a source: "According to Smith…"

Plagiarism

Presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own.

Patchwriting

Paraphrasing too closely by swapping a few words.

Works Cited

MLA's list of sources at the end.

References

APA's list of sources at the end.

Evaluating sources

Check the author's credentials, currency, evidence, publisher and bias.

Sample practice questions

5 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.