To cite properly and avoid plagiarism, make sure you do the following when quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing someone else's work: cite the source immediately after the quote or paraphrase, provide a corresponding entry in the bibliography, and use a single citation style (such as Chicago or APA) consistently throughout your paper.
The most common citation mistakes include forgetting to cite paraphrased ideas (not just direct quotations), providing incorrect information about the source, and including citations in the bibliography without corresponding in-text references. If you are unsure whether a citation is needed, it is generally better to cite too often than to omit a source. Our guide on how to cite a letter in APA, MLA, and Chicago style covers formatting for different source types. Quetext's Plagiarism Checker flags uncited matches so you know exactly where citations are needed.