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Theater, Film and Television

A guide to theater, film and television research for Kingsborough students.

Citation Basics

Citing your sources is a very important part of the research process. Why?

  • Citations help you avoid plagiarism. As you may know, Kingsborough stands strongly against plagiarism, or using the work of others as your own. (See the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity here.) Citing direct or indirect quotations can prevent you from inadvertently claiming another writer's work as your own. 
  • Citations help you make your case. In addition to avoiding plagiarism, citing sources will make your work much stronger. Each citation stands as a piece of evidence: a citation adds to your paper by saying to the reader: "What she is arguing is backed up by the scholars in the field."
  • Citations show the person who is reading how to get further information. Citations can be a great way of pointing your reader to more interesting sources on your topic. 
  • Citations strike up a conversation with your source. In scholarly writing, citations are considered a form of communication between one author and another. By citing an author's work, you not only support your own argument, but you are also announcing that the sources you cited are good works of research or scholarship. It's a conversation, even though they may not know about it. 

 

Citation formats: There are several different citation styles, and each style has its own particular rules about how exactly a source should be cited. Your professor will often require a particular format (such as MLA or APA), or may tell you to choose one yourself. Below are some common citation styles. 

Books on Citation

There are a number of books available at the library to assist with citation as well as proper format, style, and content.

Citation Links

A number of websites are devoted to helping students and other researchers cite their work.