Citation as Support for What You Say
X. When asserting specific facts, such as the population of an area, the occurrence of an event at a specific time, particularly with any details, or any facts not commonly known, a credible source should be cited to demonstrate the accuracy of the concrete fact(s). Reference books are often acceptable for this sort of citation.[1] For current events, a top rank newspaper is acceptable. Although the student may be tempted to use Wikipedia, some instructors may be suspicious that it is an inadequate source. Fact citations should follow (Author, date, page) in most circumstances. If the whole article is relevant, then use (Author, date) . If citing a graphic, such as a table or chart, give the table, chart or other graphic number as well as the page number as in (Author, date, Table n, page).
- Example: In 2000, there were 281,421,906 people living in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009).
- Example: Civil War draft riots took place in New York City in July 1863, just a short while after the major Union victory in Gettysburg (The New York Times guide to essential knowledge, 2007, 563).
- Example: In 1997, Nassau, New York’s tax equalization rate was 95.66 (McCall, 1998, Table 4, p. 182).
[1] Some instructors may not accept the substitution of dictionary definitions of terms that are more thoroughly examined in the texts you are using.