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In this article you can find out:

• What a source is
• Why we should always cite sources
• How to cite sources using in-text citations

This resource is suitable for broadly discursive essay writing for S1, S2 and S3 (Third and Fourth Level Curriculum for Excellence).

When you are writing an essay, you will likely come across some excellent sources to support your argument.

It might feel tempting to copy and paste some of this information straight into your essay. Perhaps the source was very well written and you might think you can't put it better yourself.

If you ever catch yourself contemplating this, it is important that you stop and think about the impact that this seemingly small action might have.

A source is any text that you have taken information from during the research process and that you use to inform and enhance your own argument.

What do we mean by citing sources?

Signposting when you have used the work of others and offering details about that work that you have drawn on, such as:

• author’s name
• where you found the information (eg website, book, newspaper article etc)
• date the source was published

1. It gives credit where credit is due – to those whose work you are using
2. Your reader can see where your information has come from
3. You will avoid plagiarising (ie copying) the work of others

Plagiarism

The final of these issues – plagiarism – is something called malpractice and should be taken seriously by a writer.

Plagiarism means taking the work of someone else and passing it off as your own.

In life (whether in the workplace or at college or university) plagiarism can get you into serious trouble. So, it is important that we understand how to cite sources accurately.

The first way you can cite a source is to include details in brackets after the quotation or information that you have included from that source.

Example

It is clear that glitter pens are preferred by primary children when drawing a picture as ‘73% of children would choose glitter pens over a felt tip pen when given the choice’ (Green, 2021).

This type of citation is called an in-text citation. You should provide a full source reference in your bibliography at the end the essay:

Green, S (2021). The Art of Colouring In. Edinburgh: Felt Publishing.

In-text citation is a quick, easy and effective way to acknowledge where your information has come from without having to write out the full bibliographical details every time.

Bibliographies

When you write a broadly discursive essay it is important that you produce a bibliography.