This week I am scheduled to teach five classes of 8th
graders and 4 classes of 6th graders how to write citations for
projects they have been researching in the school library.
At the beginning of my lesson on writing citations, I always
explain why we include a works cited/bibliography with our papers and
projects. Some reasons include giving
others credit for their work, avoiding being accused of plagiarism (for not
crediting sources), and giving the reader/audience additional sources to look
at if they want to find out more about their fascinating topic.
Most students do not think that their works cited page is
anything more than a necessary evil that is required by their mean teacher and
the picky librarian. However, I know
from experience that bibliographies contain a goldmine of information that can
supply valuable resources.
When I find an article, book or website that provides
information I am looking for on my topic, I always check to see the resources
the author used. More often than not,
these bibliographies lead me to additional articles and sources on my
topic. It also helps me to identify the
experts that are publishing and contributing to the research. When I see the same people and their works
being cited over and over, I know that this is another lead that should be
investigated.
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