When you write a research paper, you use information and facts from a variety of resources to support your own ideas to develop new ones. You cite these sources for the following reasons:
Give Credit: Giving credit to the original source acknowledges experts and scholars for their contribution. In some fields, citations can lead to career advancement.
Establish Credibility: Citations build credibility because they demonstrate how much you have read and learned, including sometimes from competing and multiple viewpoints. It will be clear to your reader that your ideas are well supported.
Help the Reader: Citations can guide your readers to more information about your topic. They can also offer in that they suggest clues to the larger conversation in which your work is positioned.
Participate in the Conversation: Your work contributes to ongoing intellectual conversations.
An annotated bibliography is a list of sources (books, articles, websites, etc.) with a paragraph highlighting the significance of each one. And remember, you're not just summarizing the source, you're detailing WHY you're using it in your paper and how it will contribute to your overall argument. An annotated bibliography serves as a launching pad to writing your essay, allowing you to organize your thoughts and sources. Please refer to Prof. Allen for the annotated bibliography outline.
For more MLA 9 resources, access our library Citation Help page
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