Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
An important part of writing essays is making sure you’re citing your work, and Citation Machine makes it relatively easy. All you need to do is select the type of essay citations you need, input your source’s information, and the citation generator will do the rest.
Of course, you’ll need to make sure you’re citing credible sources. Using a random blog that doesn’t have factual or data-driven information is not going to bode well for your essay.
Let’s dive into citing some sources.
Using Citation Machine to Cite Your Work
Citation Machine makes setting up your sources easy. Whether you’re putting together a professional-looking blog post or writing a college paper, you can copy and paste the formatting of your citations easily.
I’m going to assume you’re on the Citation Machine website.
Step 1: Select Your Essay Type
Using the drop-down list, select the format of your essay and click, “Create citation.”
There are many styles for formatting essay citations. Each will have its own layout according to this style. In this tutorial, I’m going to use MLA, as that is the requirement for the course I’m currently taking.
However, the instructions are similar regardless of the style you need for your specific paper.
Step 2: Add Your Source
Choose the source you want to add as a citation. By default, you have: website, book, and journal. Or, you can use the drop-down for the “More” option to select other types of sources.
Citation Manager has settings for a wide range of source types, ranging from blogs to a specific published thesis. In this instance, I’m going to cite my own blog as a source.
Step 3: Input the Source’s Information
On the next screen, scroll down a bit and input the information of your source. The more information you’re able to add to this section, the better.
Keep in mind that each source and citation style may be quite a bit different.
Also, the fields that have a yellow-tint shade are fields that are often required for most citation types. You can still add the source without this information, but the citation looks better if you have it available.
Step 4: Complete the Citation
Once all of the information has been entered for your source, click the “Complete citation” button.
This may open a window that prompts you to view a sponsored message or subscribe to Citation Machine for $9.95 per month. You don’t have to subscribe, but you may need to watch a quick commercial.
Once the ad is over, you’ll be able to access your citation.
Step 5: (Optional) Create Additional Citations
If you need more than one citation for your essay, follow the steps above to create another. The app will continue to add your citations in order until you are done.
Create as many citations as you need. But when you are done, go on to the next step.
Step 6: Copy and Paste Your Citation
Citation Machine lets you copy your citations directly or export them. If you choose to export the list, you can save it in a Microsoft Word document to be used alongside your essay.
Otherwise, you can click to “Copy all” and then paste them into your essay.
That’s all there is to it. The hardest part is making sure you have all of the information available for the source. Remember, being detailed in your sources goes a long way to demonstrating your authority and professionalism.
Individual Citation Options
You’ll notice that you have three vertical dots next to the individual citation entries. These are settings you can use to fine-tune the sources, which is especially helpful if you accidentally entered the wrong information.
In this drop-down window, you can:
- Copy citation – copies only that particular citation and not the entire list.
- Edit citation – opens the source screen to input new or correct information.
- Delete citation – deletes the source from the list.
- Notes – lets you add specific notes to individual sources.
- Copy in-text citation – opens an in-text citation window for the source.
- Visit source link – launches the URL of the source, if you have one.
Should You Pay for Citation Machine?
Citation Machine is more than just an app to cite your sources. It also has a built-in plagiarism checker and writing assistant. While you can use much of the system for free, some of the more advanced elements will require a monthly subscription.
For example, the checker will inform you that sections have been detected for possible plagiarism, but it won’t show you those alerts unless you’re a paying member.
The Citation Machine Plus membership is about $9.95 per month for the regular tools, or you can pay $14.95 per month ($119.40 per year) to have access to expert advice and feedback.
If you’re a student and write at least two or three essays per month, upgrading to the Plus plan is probably ideal. Between having a writing assistant, plagiarism checker, and citation generator, it’s quite a package for actively writing students.
If you only need an occasional citation and don’t plan on writing a lot of essays or worry about plagiarism, then you probably don’t need to worry about upgrading.
On a side note, the Writing Assistant has a lot of functionality if you are interested in trying it for free. It doesn’t export your paper, but you can copy the finished product and paste it into your favorite word processor, such as Microsoft Word or LibreOffice.
Long story short, if you’re an active student with a lot of writing ahead, Citation Machine might be worth $10 per month. Besides, the Plus account gets rid of the ads on the website. That alone might be worth the money for frequent users.
FAQs About Citation Machine
Some types of online citations require the date on which you accessed the page. This is because websites often change information, and the date accessed tells the reader when that information was valid. Plus, it’s helpful to know if someone uses the Wayback Machine to verify information.
There is no limit to how long Citation Machine will save your citations. You can generate as many as you’d like, and the platform will store your most recent list without logging in. However, creating an account will save individual lists to access at a later date.
There’s nothing wrong with adding citations to the end of blog content. However, most people don’t care about the information unless you’re building a site based in the sciences or legal industries. Most people will simply use a link as a form of citation to highlight to human readers and search engines where the information originated.
In the case of blogging, links to sources are considered a form of citation according to search algorithms.
You can add citations either in-text using parentheses or at the end as a reference list. Depending on the paper you’re writing, you may have to include both, especially if you’re writing a college essay.
Citation Machine will keep track of your sources regardless of whether you have an account. It’s one of the reasons why many college students use the platform, as it’s a quick and easy way to cite your sources without jumping through a lot of hoops or creating accounts.
Always Cite Your Sources
Citing your sources is a vital part of proving a thesis or demonstrating authority to support an argument. And it’s just as vital for a blog post as it is for an undergraduate essay. Citation Machine will help you build them properly for the work.
Perhaps the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to make sure your sources are valid and credible. Don’t just link back to “Bob’s Blog” because he said something that sounded factual. Verify the information to ensure you’re not spreading falsehoods or blatant lies.
Citing credible sources builds trust and improves your reputation in the field. Make sure you give credit where credit is due.
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