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4.3: Citations IRL (in real life)

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    Speaking of avoiding plagiarism and attributing where you get information from, have you ever thought about how this practice happens every day around you? It does!

    In real life, you're not going to include a formal citation in an email to your cousin. However, you might link to a news article backing up a claim you make in that email. We call these informal citations, or "blog style" citations.

    informal citation in an email

    Image created and shared by CCC Library

    Really, something as simple as a link to an article in an email is an informal citation.

    Informal citations allow everyone to cite their sources in less formal forms of writing, like blog posts, emails, news articles, and webpages. Informal citations are how everyday creators of information acknowledge ownership, attribute quotes, check facts, and learn more. The beauty of informal citations is that they force you to think about how your sources fit, and actually say why you're sharing them. (Those are skills that you also need in order to write more formal research papers!!)

    You see informal citations all the time. Some examples:

    Examples of informal citations found online
    News Informal Citation Infographic informal citation Webpage image informal citation
    "'Forever 21 is a powerful retail brand with incredible consumer reach and a wealth of untapped potential,' Jamie Salter, CEO of
    ABG, said in a statement(opens in new window). Forever 21 currently has 593 stores globally."

    Source: NPR(opens in new window)

    Explanation: In the text of their news article, NPR is citing and linking readers to where CEO Salter said the quote.

    informal citation infographic

    Screenshot source: Reddit(opens in new window)

    Explanation: Redditor matts41 cited their data-gathering methodology in the image.

    informal citation image

    Screenshot source: LIB101 Week 4 splashpage

    Explanation: CCC librarians are citing the source of the image by including a link to the source.

    The main takeaway - citing your sources is important no matter how or where you are sharing information.

    Tips for informally citing sources

    1. Informal citations work well for short papers with a small number of sources and no formal citation requirement, reflection papers, and/or Moodle forum posts.
      • Check with your instructor first to make sure they don't expect a Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) page.
      • Make sure you provide enough information for the source so that it can be found in a Google search.
    2. Google docs - How to turn text into a link without showing the URL(opens in new window)
    3. Word docs - How to turn text into a link without showing the URL(opens in new window)
    4. Moodle forums - How to turn text into a link without showing the URL(opens in new window)

    Formal citations are often expected in college when you incorporate sources into your academic work. Let's begin our exploration of two formal citation styles used at Clackamas CC - Modern Language Association (MLA) style and American Psychological Association (APA) style.

    4.3: Citations IRL (in real life) is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Clackamas Community College Library.