Mount A Libraries: MUSC 1201: Introduction to Western Art Music History: Citation and plagiarism

Citations and bibliographies

As part 2 of your MUSC 1201 Library assignment, you will need to create citations for all of the sources you have found and format it like a bibliography you will need at the end of a research paper.

What is citation?

Citations are used to acknowledge and clearly identify the source of information used in your academic work. Citations are included in your text whenever you use someone else's words or paraphrase some or all of their ideas. Quotation marks are used for direct use of someone's words, but paraphrasing or summarizing someone's ideas also requires a citation.

Bibliographies or reference lists are found at the end of a paper and provide a list of all of the sources cited within the text.

For more detail about the differences between quotation, paraphrasing, and summarizing, check out this excellent guide from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab!

Why do we cite?

it acknowledges the work of others and gives credit where credit is due
it allows readers to locate the sources you used for your work
it provides evidence that you have consulted and understood relevant scholarship in your area
it strengthens your arguments by distinguishing between which ideas are your own and which are those of others
it helps avoid accusations of plagiarism

Plagiarism

The simplest definition of plagiarism is taking someone else's work or idea and passing it off as your own. There are many different ways of committing plagiarism, but the most common case is failure to give appropriate acknowledgement when repeating, paraphrasing, or referring to another person's wording, argument, or ideas.

Luckily, the best way to avoid this type of plagiarism is through the proper use of citation!

Other forms of plagiarism include submitting someone else's paper as your own, reusing the work of another student, or submitting part or all of a paper used for another assignment.

Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and is governed by Mount Allison's Academic Integrity Policy. Getting to know the policy early on is important to avoid situations where you might violate it, especially because the consequences for serious violations can be severe.

Gordon Harvey's book Writing with Sources: A Guide for Students provides excellent guidance on how to properly integrate sources into your writing and is a good reference for when you are undertaking a large written assignment like in MUSC 1201!