APA. MLA. Chicago.
Every college student knows the meaning behind the three phrases above. Whether it is for an assignment, paper or presentation, these words keep on coming up; there is no escape.
Proper citation is something that teachers preach at an early level, sometimes starting in middle school. Once a student is in high school, almost every assignment must be accompanied by a "works cited" sheet, most likely in the form of MLA. Proper technique, citing and punctuation is taught at this level, so the student does not get into any plagiarism accusations once in college.
At the college level, citing becomes even more difficult. In addition to the introduction of footnotes, in-text citations and dense reference lists, citations are a huge headache for a college student. One missed period, improper placement or excess information can be detrimental to the overall citation, and ultimately the grade on the assignment. Citations are a huge part of an overall grade, and if a student does not do it right, they're in big trouble.
All this makes me think, what is the big deal about necessary citations? I fully understand the need and thought process of citing and giving credit for another person's work. I completely agree that plagiarism is bad and should be addressed. However, I do not agree with the bureaucracies that accompany proper citation via MLA, APA, Chicago or any of the other styles.
If it were up to me, I would mandate the person using a certain picture, thought or line from someone else's work, to write the name of the author, where they got it from and call it a day. No extra hoops, no punctuation rules or the need for page number, issue number, color and condition of the book or font style of the original copy.
OK, the last two were a joke, but I find it absurd the amount of emphasis that is put on citing information. A student can do excellent on the content component of an assignment, but wind up with a C+ or B due to improper citing. Or another scenario: a student can be threatened with expulsion or loss of credit because he or she used improper sourcing and was accused of plagiarism when that was not at all the intent of the student by any means.
I am no academic scholar, in fact, I am a college student who suffers from the necessity to cite sources properly. However, I feel that I need to be the voice of the student body and call for action. Yes, plagiarism is an important topic and is a horrible act by someone hoping to steal another individual's ideas, information or work without the proper consent and credit given. However, I would not care if someone using my words forgot to add a parenthesis after my name.
