Wikipedia:School and university projects/ITESM Campus Toluca/Citations

Why sources should be cited
Wikipedia is by its very nature a work by people with widely different knowledge and skills. The reader needs to be assured that the material within it is reliable: this is especially important where statements are made about controversial issues. The purpose of citing your sources is:


 * To improve the overall credibility and authoritative nature of Wikipedia.
 * To credit a source for providing useful material and to avoid claims of plagiarism.
 * To show that your edit is not original research.
 * To ensure that the content of articles is credible and can be checked by any reader or editor.
 * To help users find additional information on the topic.
 * To reduce the likelihood of editorial disputes, or to resolve any that arise.
 * To ensure that material about living persons complies with Biographies of living persons.

When you add content
All material that is challenged or likely to be challenged needs a source.

The need for citations is especially important when writing about opinions held on a particular issue. Avoid weasel words where possible, such as, "Some people say ..." Instead, make your writing verifiable: find a specific person or group who holds that opinion and give a citation to a reputable publication in which they express that opinion. Remember that Wikipedia is not a place for expressing your own opinions or for original research.

Because this is the English Wikipedia, English-language sources should be given whenever possible, and should always be used in preference to other language sources of equal calibre. However, do give references in other languages where appropriate. If quoting from a different language source, an English translation should be given with the original-language quote beside it.

When adding material to the biography of a living person
Biographies of living persons should be sourced with particular care, for legal and ethical reasons. All contentious material about living persons must cite a reliable source. Do not wait for another editor to request a source. If you find contentious material that is unsourced or poorly sourced about a living person &mdash; whether in an article or on a talk page &mdash; remove it immediately! Do not leave it in the article and ask for a source. Do not move it to the talk page. This applies whether the material is in a biography or any other article.

When you quote someone
You should always add a citation when quoting published material, and the citation should be placed directly after the quotation, which should be enclosed within double quotation marks &mdash; "like this" &mdash; or single quotation marks if it is a quote-within-a-quote &mdash; "and here is such a 'quotation' as an example." For long quotes, you may wish to use Quotation templates.

Thanks a lot for your time! -- Theunicyclegirl  talk 17:48, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Article on Machaca
Just upgraded the stub on machaca to a full article with citations. Anyone care to take a look and critique it? Thelmadatter 15:43, 30 July 2007 (UTC)Thelmadatter


 * Looks good. I changed the references to use and  citation formats.  Check out Template:cite book, Template:cite journal and Template:cite web for details.
 * --Richard 18:22, 30 July 2007 (UTC)