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Zachary White Jessie Carty English 1101 4 December 2013 Credit Where Credits Due: The language of Citations When it comes to the rights of humanity, the right to create is one of our most sacred. Not only do we believe that the act of creation is guaranteed to us, many of us dream of creating something unique, something that will stand the test of time and survive through the ages, something that can be passed on for others to see. However, even the creator of the most profound and defining masterpiece, whatever it may be, will go on unsatisfied, furious even, if there part in its creation goes unnoticed. This is why the citation was created. To give the honors to those who have earned them. In many ways, citations take on aspects of languages as a whole. There are different dialects or accents which take the form of the many different formats of citations, as well as confusion as to where and when to use certain styles, which can be compared to some of the grammatical debates regarding the English language. Even more similarly, they are used to establish identity, just as we use our language to single ourselves out from a crowd. Just as you would hear people speak differently depending on where you are geographically, citations are used in different styles depending on what you are doing academically. These dialects emphasize different aspects of a source, and are used in very different fields. They consist of in text or parenthetical citations, such as MLA or APA, which give a short description of the source directly after quoting it, and a style that utilizes footnotes,

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such as Chicago style (Yale). Various people, academic or otherwise, are regularly confused as to why there is a need for different styles of citation, myself included prior to my research on the subject. Now however, it is clear why different subjects use different dialects of citations, perhaps more clear than why there are accents in different parts of the same country. The first of the in-text style citations is MLA. Defined by its namesake, the Modern Language Association, MLA style is most commonly used when writing on the humanities. In liberal arts writing, you are focused on how particular piece influences another, or in other words, how your source has contributed to your own piece of writing. This why in a works cited page, the authors name and the page number are clearly visible, which allows another person to easily find the original text you are analyzing. In APA (American Psychological Association) however, other information is more pertinent. APA is primarily used in scientifically oriented papers. Because of this, one of the leading pieces of information on a Reference page is the year of publishment, so a reader can easily see both how relevant a source is to a current topic and how statistics have evolved over time (Yale). Another popular form of citations is one that forgoes the parentheses for footnotes, or short bibliographies at the bottom of each page where the information is used. This Chicago Style, named so because of it was founded by the University of Chicago, is used chiefly among historical writers. Footnotes are used here so that the reader is not distracted by the presence of publication information and can instead focus on the evidence being presented (Yale). Just like there is constant discussion amongst academics regarding the proper use of grammar and when where you can use certain phrases, there are is also confusion present as to

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when a work requires a citation, and the difference between plagiarism and copyright infringement. Although closely related, Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement fall under two separate authoritative bodies, one being purely an academic charge, while the other has substantial government bodies in place to enforce it, and therefore are completely independent of one another. Although the definition of plagiarism is different where you go, it is commonly interpreted as trying to pass off anothers work as your own, while copyright infringement is the act of violating someones right to their intellectual property. Many a time, a charge pf plagiarism and copyright infringement go hand and hand, however it is possible to do one without the other. Legally, one does not have to cite works used in research if its found in the public domain or obtained under fair use, despite being uncourteous to the original creator of the content, however, this would be considered plagiarizing said work. Inversely, if someone cited a work protected by copyright laws, despite not being a plagiarist, they are still infringing on a copyright (CMU, Studentpress). Although merely a small facet of our own language, citations have become incredibly dynamic. Just as English has evolved and mutated over the last few centuries to meet our needs of expression and communication, the practice of citing sources has adapted to an ever changing world where access to information has become unparalleled and the right of an author to be recognized has risen to a new height.

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Works Cited "Copyright - Frequently Asked Questions." CMU. Central Michigan University, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. Hiestand, Mike. "Trends In College Media - Plagiarism vs. Copyright." Student Press. Associated Collegiate Press, 12 May 2006. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. Yale College Writing Center. "Why Are There Different Citation Styles?" Writing.yalecollege.yale.edu. Yale College, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.