3.5 Attributing and citing references

2 min read•june 18, 2024

AP English Language ✍🏽

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This guide will be going over attributing and citing references in your writing.

Why is important to cite evidence?

To give credit to the original author: Citing information acknowledges the original author of the work and gives them credit for their ideas and research.
To allow readers to follow up: By citing information, you provide a way for readers to follow up on the information that you have used in your work. This could be to learn more about the topic or to check the validity of the information.
To establish credibility: Citing information helps to establish credibility for your work and shows that you have used credible sources to support your argument.
To meet academic standards: In many academic settings, it is mandatory to cite information to meet academic standards and to ensure that all work is original.
To provide evidence: Citing information provides evidence to support your argument and shows that you have done your research.
To avoid plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's work as your own without giving proper credit. Citing information helps to avoid plagiarism and ensures that the work is original.

How do we cite our scources?

Citing sources itself is very simple. In the exam for specific essays you will be provided with sources and they will have letters (ex: Source A, Source B, Source C). All you would have to do is put the source letter in parentheses after using the quote.

Sample Text:

Computers in the classroom seems like an innovative, groundbreaking idea, however for the same reasons it would succeed, may also be its blunder. Through technology, teachers have the ability to interact and communicate “like never before.” but in a society where almost every home in America has a household computer and even those pinned as “poor” according to the federal standard have access to the quick convenience of a cell phone, technology integrated into education is not as impressive or exotic to students (Source B).

The importance of citing information cannot be overstated as it gives credit to the original author, avoids plagiarism, provides evidence, allows readers to follow up, establishes credibility, and meets academic standards. Overall, it's vital to show the test scorer that you used the sources provided.

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🤔Exam Skills

🥇Unit 1 – Claims, Reasoning, & Evidence

🗂️Unit 2 – Organizing Information for a Specific Audience

👀Unit 3 – Perspectives & How Arguments Relate

3.0Unit 3 Overview: Perspectives and How Arguments Relate

3.1Interpreting character description and perspective

3.2Identifying and avoiding flawed lines of reasoning

3.3Introducing and integrating sources and evidence

3.4Using sufficient evidence for an argument

3.5Attributing and citing references

3.6Developing parts of a text with cause-effect and narrative methods