Academic Support and Tutoring (AST) provides free tutoring to MCC students (including writing and citation assistance) and free support and tutorials for college-related software.
AST offers in-person support in the Learning Commons, located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Learning Technology Center (LTC). You can also reach out to AST via phone, Zoom, or email.
Use the link above to learn more about AST and locate its contact information and hours.
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Students sometimes find citation rules confusing, so they ask us why the citation process is necessary. There are several reasons why your instructors ask you to cite. The simplest answer is that you are asked to cite to verify that you did the research, but there's much more to it than that! Read on to learn some of the reasons why citation is expected in academia.
1. It is a way of showing gratitude to the authors for sharing their information, contributing to the field, and expanding your knowledge.
2. Information has value; therefore, giving credit to your sources shows that you know the value of their effort and work.
3. The subject of your research is part of an ongoing conversation that you are helping to continue. The authors learned from their own sources, education, and training, which they cited. By citing your authors, you acknowledge your entry into the scholarly conversation.
4. You are allowing your readers to find your sources for their own study and knowledge acquisition.
5. By citing and acknowledging your sources, you add scholarly expertise and authority to your discussion.
6. Finally, you are showing a mature, ethical use of scholarly literature. It is simply the right thing to do!
Not sure what the difference is between paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting?
Paraphrasing: "Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly." from Purdue Owl
Summarizing: A summary is "much shorter that the original source. If your aim is to summarize a long passage, look for the author's most important ideas." from The Curious Writer
Quoting: A quote contains the exact words from a source. Don't forget to use quotation marks and cite the source.
If you need further help, try these websites:
It's easy to understand most types of cheating because we learned about them as children. It's harder to understand plagiarism though.
Take a look at McLennan Community College's Academic Integrity policy to learn how the college defines cheating and plagiarism and discover the penalties for each.
Afterward, visit Purdue OWL's Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing or its Best Practices to Avoid Plagiarism to make sure you know how to avoid accidental plagiarism. (Yes, you can accidentally commit plagiarism!)
The video below also offers some useful information on plagiarism and tips for avoiding it.
