References: Crediting Others’ Ideas

Writing About Other’s Ideas

A lot of college writing, and most of research writing, heavily involves writing about the ideas of other people and information provided by others. In the case study we read, the writers were referencing an Inupiaq elder explaining the hunting lesson.

Making references is a way of showing knowledge and quality of knowledge. In academic settings, referencing a lot of knowledge, especially knowledge produced through other academics is valued the most.. Which I don’t really agree with, it’s an observation I’m making that is also influenced by education scholars such as Bettina Love and Bell Hooks. In research writing classes, you’ll research and write about a large variety of types of sources. The topic and goals of your research influence what type of writing and information is most useful and how you’ll use it.

Writers synthesize or blend their ideas with the references providing markers within the sentences, citation within the writing, and a list of references at the end of the writing. Full-length research articles published in journals cite dozens or even hundreds of sources including:

• Data states or represented as percentages, statistics, tables, charts
• Scholarly articles (by research centers, university journals, etc.)
• Speeches and presentations given in videos, at college events, or at conferences
• Documentaries
• Books
• News articles
• Tweets and other social media posts
• Online essays and other digital-only artifacts
• Documents such as laws, treaties, forms
• Images such as pictures and diagrams
• Much more!

In later chapters, there will be activities about ways to find and read sources about a specific topic. For now, I want to mention an important aspect about referencing sources, for school and work settings. When you are using words or ideas,  acknowledge that you are making a reference.

Giving Credit to Others for Their Ideas – References

You might most often write about your own ideas. People occasionally make a reference or two. For example, they might mention a movie or video they watched recently. Almost nobody follows a formal academic citation style when they mention a reference. But there are expectations to give credit to where you are getting your ideas from, and an expectation not to copy. In writing for college, writing somebody else’s ideas or exact words without saying so is considered plagiarism. Colleges have policies against the practice. The important thing is to acknowledge that you are using some information or making a reference. Many teachers will have the expectation that you do this acknowledgment in a very specific way – details to follow! The concept this school rule is based on is present everywhere though.

Comedians, musicians, and public speakers are sometimes accused of stealing ideas or outright copying what somebody else said. Instead of collaborating with and paying independent clothing designers, company Shein has been accused of using their work without crediting or paying them, says Aryana Archie in the NPR article “Shein Steals Artists’ Designs, a Federal Racketeering Lawsuit Says.” This brings Shein profit and provides those designs at a lower cost to consumers. Creators are always supposed to be credited. Rock band Radiohead’s hit song “Creep” was heavily influenced by another song, and others have been accused of copying Radiohead, as captured in the article “Lana Del Rey, Radiohead, and the Difficulty of Making Original Music.” Radiohead head to mention the other band, and pay them.

Simple Guidelines for References in College:

• Acknowledge when you are referencing your own ideas and knowledge so the source of the information is always clear.
• Say something about the source within the flow of your speech or writing.
• Check the stated purpose of the writing task and follow the citation required by the assignment, project, etc. Some teacher require a specific type of reference.
• There should be citation any time a source or information is used.
•  It’s preferable to do citation wrong than to skip it. A citation mistake is okay, not citing at all is often considered a form of cheating.