You show respect for the original ideas of other people, and in turn gain respect as a scholar yourself, when you properly cite your sources. These citations leave a trail for scholars to trace how ideas have traveled. Good researchers mine the list of references at the end of a chapter or journal article to track down more sources.
As a rhetoric student at the University of Iowa, you are part of a community that has agreed to a code of academic honesty. Participating as a member of this community means many things, not the least of which is that you, yourself, are a scholar now. How does that feel to recognize yourself as a scholar? As a relatively new scholar, you help to create your own credibility through making sure to cite the sources you have used to generate your own original work.
To get started, watch this short video about citing your sources.
Citation: A (very) brief introduction from NCSU Libraries
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