Below are a set of suggestions that can help you use citation generators wisely. In short, relying entirely on citation generators rather than on one’s judgment as a writer can lead to errors. They may simply not think to double-check the citations they receive, and thus miss the occasional errors that even well-designed citation generators can make. They may use citations in ways that don’t make sense because they assume that as long as they have received the “correct” citation from the generator, any usage of this citation is valid.
They may give citation generators inaccurate information (and thus receive incorrect citations) under the incorrect assumption that the generator can “sort out” any errors. Thus, writers who use citation generators as if they were definitive authorities (rather than powerful tools) can expose themselves to problems. They can only follow instructions given to them by their users and their programmers. They do not “understand” the task of citation in the way that humans do. Citation generators cannot exercise any judgment of their own. What’s important to realize, however, is that citation generators rely on the user’s input and follow set patterns. Other citation generators can automatically fix spelling or capitalization errors that the user makes when inputting the source’s information. For instance, some generators can automatically locate sources in online databases and fill out entire citations with just a little bit of starting information-the source’s title, for instance. Some offer additional features not described above. The diagram below illustrates this pattern.Ĭitation generators can be very sophisticated. This usually takes the form of text that a user can copy and paste into a project. The generator produces a citation (or set of citations) that the user can use. This usually means putting the pieces of information received in Step 1 into the correct order and applying the correct formatting. The generator processes this information according to settings the user has specified (e.g., the citation style and the medium).
Usually, this comes from the user: he or she types the source’s author, title, publication date, and so on. The generator receives information about a source. Though many different citation generators exist, most follow this general process: How Do Citation Generators Work?Ĭitation generators are programs that turn information about a source into a citation that the writer can use in a project. Thus, writers should remember that citation generators cannot (and should not) do their thinking for them. The rest of this guide provides information that can help you keep this simple principle in mind as you work. Used unwisely, however, they can introduce systematic errors that the writer isn’t even aware of. Used wisely, citation generators remove much of the tedium from the writing task so that writers can focus on the things that matter most-their ideas.
However, because citation generators have the potential to change the writing task so drastically, it’s important for writers to educate themselves about them. Some even allow writers to construct entire bibliographies on the fly that can be imported into projects with a few clicks.Ĭitation generators are, clearly, powerful tools. Citation generators allow writers to generate citations in a fraction of the time this work once took. Gone are the days of painstakingly documenting every individual source by hand.
The citation generator is a relatively recent addition to the writer’s toolbox, but one that has already altered the practice of writing immensely. See also our similar article on "paper checker" apps. Then, it offers a few “best practices” for using citation generators. This page describes how citation generator apps work to show what’s happening when a writer uses one.