Why is proper citation necessary?
A citation is a reference in your paper or report that gives the source of evidence that you have used. In most cases, the evidence will be a text, drawing, piece of data, opinion or theory from a work in published or electronic form. Citing is necessary in order to use information appropriately.
Citations are an essential element of academic writing. As part of the introduction to your paper or report, you are normally required to provide background information about your theme, or present overviews of previous work on the same topic. Moreover, if you cite research that supports your point of view, this will make your argument more convincing.
Lists of citations are similar to bibliographies, but bibliographies are used to indicate the sources of the materials consulted in the preparation of your paper or report. Cited references, on the other hand, indicate precisely which part of the information resource is incorporated into specific parts of your paper or report. They indicate exactly where the segments of text or data appear in the original source material.
