7.8: Parting Thoughts

If you spend any time in college, you will need to understand how to cite the sources backing up the research you do for your academic assignments. There are a number of citations styles in use in academia and the publishing world. At the community college level, the most common citation styles are MLA and APA. Your instructor should indicate which citation style guide you need to use for a particular assignment. If you track down a source in a library database, you can usually use that database's citation tool to auto-generate a citation for this source. This is a great starting point! But don't forget to double-check auto-generated citations against the style guide, because computers can make mistakes. For example, if you see an element in a citation that is in all capital letters, this is a sign the citation needs to be edited before it is added to your Works Cited list.

The use of generative AI tools is making it necessary for students to go further with how they give credit for work they did not do. This is an evolving situation in the academic world, so the standards for this process are in flux. Your instructor should make it clear what they want to see with regard to the use of generative AI tools. Some instructors will not want you to use generative AI tools for specific assignments, while others may advise creative use of such tools. If you do make use of a generative AI tool to complete an assignment, it is a good idea to acknowledge how and why you used it. Heads up: Generative AI tools can generate citations, but proceed with caution. They often create inaccurate citations which could be graded down. They have been also known to generate citations for sources that don't exist. You will want to check this sort of citation against the actual source for accuracy.

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