Built on someone's work? Say so. Here's how to give credit properly — in papers, posts, and projects.
Citing isn't just academic box-ticking. It's how ideas trace their lineage — who thought it first, who proved it, who improved it. In an open workshop like this, credit is currency. It also protects you: showing your sources proves you did the work and lets others verify it.
Author-date format. Most common in STEM.
Author-page format. Common in literature, arts, and general writing.
Two systems: notes-bibliography (footnotes) and author-date. Flexible and thorough.
Always include: author (if known), title, site name, publication/update date, and URL. Add the date you accessed it — web pages change.
Credit the creator directly under the image. If you modified it, say so: "Adapted from…"
Link the repository, name the author, note the license.
If an AI helped you write, calculate, or brainstorm, say so. Transparency builds trust.
Citing Wikipedia as a primary source. Wikipedia is a great starting point — cite the sources it cites, not the article itself, in formal work.
Forgetting the access date. Web content changes. "Retrieved October 14, 2026" tells readers what version you saw.
Close paraphrasing without citation. Rewording someone's paragraph isn't original work — it still needs a cite.
Citation stuffing. Don't cite ten sources when one solid one does the job. Quality over quantity.