Documentation

To avoid plagiarism, you must document information that you borrow from sources.  In most SSU classes that require researched writing, you will probably be asked to use either MLA or APA documentation style.  Both styles have two essential components:

1. In-text citations.  After you insert borrowed information, you must include a brief, parenthetical reference that points readers to the appropriate spot in your bibliography.

2. Bibliographies.  At the end of a paper, you will include a bibliography (most often titled a "Works Cited" or "References" page) that gives extensive publication information for the sources you used in your paper.  Any reader who wants to read more from your sources should have no trouble finding those sources after looking at your bibliography.

In most English classes, you will probably be required to use MLA documentation, which is explained in Chapter 25 of The Longman Concise Companion (pages 204-38).

In most social science and education classes, you will probably be required to use APA documentation, which is explained in Chapter 26 of The Longman Concise Companion (pages 240-68).