Documentation

Properly citing the sources you used in writing your paper (often called "documentation") shows that you have done your research.

Citing sources is a formalized process in which you show where information you use in your paper came from.

You have already seen that bibliographies or lists of references are one of the ways to identify reliable sources. They show that the authors have done research using other sources. They aren't just giving their own opinions.

When you write a paper, you must do this also. Documentation is the process of quoting or paraphrasing other peoples' words or ideas and saying where you got them.

There are several styles of citing sources. You will use the MLA style.