A citation is a reference to the source of an idea, information or image.
Any words, ideas or images that you do not create yourself must be cited if you use them in your work.
Citing information sources lets the audience know the origins of your information (in case they would like to locate the original) and gives credit to the creator (preventing plagiarism).
In your CMNS 101 class, you are able to choose the citation style you are comfortable with. MLA style is most commonly associated with humanities research. APA style is most commonly associated with social sciences and sciences research. We recommend you go with what most of your future classes will use.
A citation in your outline will look like an "in-text" citation for a longer, written work.
An example in APA style of this would be (Smith, 2020) if the article or chapter or website (etc.) you are citing was written by someone with the last name Smith and it was published in 2020. Imagining the same article but using MLA, you would just say (Smith) in your outline. Both of these examples assume that in your References/Works Cited pages, you had a full citation written out for this article, like below:
In your outline: 79% of respondents in one recent survey reported that they preferred the denser texture of cake donuts to lighter, yeast risen donuts (Smith, 2020).
In the References/Works Cited pages:
(APA References example) Smith, M. (2020). Glazed cake donuts are superior pastries. www.thisisamadeupwebsite.com
(MLA Works Cited example) Smith, Melisandra. (2020). "Glazed Cake Donuts Are Superior Pastries." www.thisisamadeupwebsite.com
The next two pages have examples of what your citations will look like on your Works Cited (if you use MLA) or References (if you use APA) pages that you submit when you turn in your speeches. You may also sometimes be asked to include brief citations on your slides for images or quotations.