WHAT IS A SOURCE? A source is anything that gives you an idea or piece of information to use in your paper or project.
A source can be a book, magazine, newspaper, letter, song, web page, blog, podcast, interview, email, Facebook update, or even your own class notes.
A source can also be something visual: a TV program, movie, photograph, chart, diagram, or illustration.
WHY DO I NEED TO CITE MY SOURCES? Citing your sources tells your audience where your information came from. This allows them to:
Go to your sources to learn more about the subject
Understand how you arrived at your theory, idea or conclusion
Know which ideas are your own original thoughts
Just as you wouldn’t want someone to steal your design for a chair, you need to give credit where it’s due when you use someone else’s ideas. WHAT IS A CITATION? A citation, or reference, is the information that identifies a source. Consider this: If someone tells you about a great drama and you want to see it, what information will you need to find it? Knowing that it’s a historical play won’t be enough. At the very least, you’ll need the title. If it’s a common title like tughlaq, you’ll need more information like the name of the director or main actor, or the year it was released. That’s a citation.