Why Citations? Why Bibliographies?
People often gather and use ideas, information and images from other sources, such as books, magazines, the Internet, movies and interviews. When students write reports or create projects, they must give credit to those sources, otherwise it can be a kind of stealing or cheating. Plagiarism is the term that means taking, using and passing off the ideas, words and images from someone else as if these were your own ideas, words and images. To avoid plagiarism, students must give credit to their sources.
There is a formal way to do this, using citations and bibliographies. Doing this properly is not only a matter of honesty and integrity. It also gives your work more credibility and gives others the information they may need to explore the sources you used.
Starting in 3rd Grade, MFS students begin to learn how to make proper citations and bibliographies. A citation shows the source of the information or image that students use in their reports. To make a proper citation, you must follow the exact established format. There are several established formats and at MFS, we primarily follow the MLA format, now in its 7th edition. In Lower School, we use a simplified format to prepare students for the more complicated formats used in Middle and Upper School and, eventually, in college work.
A bibliography is a list of the citations used for a whole report or project, usually listed in alphabetical order. Sometimes the bibliography is arranged in groups according to the type of resource (print, Internet, interview, etc.). Students should follow the specific instructions given by the teacher for a specific project. If you need help, feel free to ask the MFS library staff!
