Education is not only a product of formal learning, but is also created from engagements with others and our own research. Life is a continuous learning experience where new ideas come from articles we read, lectures we hear, or conducting research on the Internet.

If one ever wishes to express these ideas in conjunction with thoughts he/she has developed than one must give credit to the creator of those original ideas. If no acknowledgment is given then the result is plagiarism.

In order to avoid plagiarism one must record where specific information was found. Even though there are various citation styles depending on the type of information researched, every citation requires the same parts: Author, Title, Title of Periodical (if available), Volume (if available), Page(s), and Date. To make it easy, before doing a research paper create an organizational template to copy down this information as research is gathered.

There are various styling formats for work citations. The most common ones are MLA style, APA style, Chicago Manual of Style, and CBE style. One’s field of research will often dictate what style is used. Most college research is cited in the MLA Style (Modern Language Association). The American Psychological Association (APA) established its own style. It is mainly used for research in social and behavioral sciences. These sciences include psychology, sociology, anthropology, business, education, etc. The Chicago Manual of Style is commonly used in the publishing industry and may also be referred to as the Turabian style. CBE style is based on the rules set forth by the Council of Biology Editors and is used mainly for science research papers.

When creating a research paper or article one must see the Works Cited page as a part of the paper rather than an addition to it that requires more time and effort. By organizing the citation parts while conducting the research one will save time when it comes to creating the work citations.