The other day I sarcastically tweeted, “can you imagine if we allow students to cite sources as ESPN allows reporters to cite anonymous sources?” My Tweet was in response to ESPN’s somewhat broken report of Tom Brady’s retirement to play in the NFL. Tweeting that question prompted me to dig up some tutorials on using the citation tools built into Word and Google Docs.
In this short video I demonstrate how to insert quotes and create a bibliography in Microsoft Word documents.
Last fall, Google updated the citation tool built into Google Docs. The current version now lets you search for books and online resources without leaving Google Docs. In this short video I demonstrate how to use the built-in citation tool to quote a website.
Applications for Education
Every time I write blog posts or publish videos about instruments like this, I get emails from readers who like to point out that bibliography tools make it “too easy” or that there is some difference between the instrument and the latest minor update from MLA or APA. My point in getting middle and high school students to use these tools is to help them build the habit of quoting their sources. When they reach the point where they have a college professor who is a fan of bibliography formats, or they submit research papers to journals, then they may worry about the little ones of the bibliography standards of academic research papers
