Library Guides @ VIU: Citing Your Sources: About Citing Sources

Welcome to the Library's guide on Citing Sources. Here you'll find everything you need to know about why citing is important, different citation styles and how to cite various types of content. We've also included some quick tools to make citing easier.

If your assignment specifies a citation style (ex. APA, MLA style, etc.), use the tabs on the left to access specific guides and examples.

If you're looking for ways to save time when citing, visit the Citation Generators or the Citation Management Tools tabs for tools.

Why Cite?

Citing your references can be time-consuming, but here's why it's important:

Citing your sources helps you to avoid plagiarism, which is when you use someone else's ideas or words without giving them credit.
Readers can go back and look at your sources if they'd like to follow up or read further.
By demonstrating how widely you've researched a topic, your own argument ends up being more credible. Citations can show you've considered a wide variety of opinions when forming your own argument.
Citing is standard practice in academic conversations. Scholars have been debating ideas through written works for years and citing is a way of respecting those who've engaged in the topic before you.

Based on UCLA's Why Cite? guide

Citing Sources: Why & How

This video explains why it is important to cite your sources and also introduces common citation styles.

VIU Writing Centre

VIU's Writing Centre offers workshops and one-on-one appointments for in-depth support on citation:

Book an appointment at the Writing Centre