In addition to the research that I am doing in my writing class, I am also doing research in my Public Health Science class. We have to write a mock grant proposal on a public health problem of our choosing and convince our teacher that it is a cause worthy of funding.

I chose to do my research on childhood obesity and overweight, since it has grown into a severe epidemic over the past decades. The research part has been pretty interesting because I’m interested in the topic and am learning about issues that really matter, but the endless citations that accompany all this research have been anything BUT enjoyable.

If you’re like me, then you absolutely loathe (NOT love) doing “Works Cited” pages. One, it is SO tedious trying to locate all the information you need, and two, you never really know if you have all your commas, periods, quotes, italics etc. in the correct places. And to top it all off, right when you think you’ve become an expert and figured it out, MLA comes out with yet another edition with a new set of rules and regulations.

Source: Giphy

Let Me Introduce You to Mr. “Works Cited”

I was reminded by one of the peer educators for my Public Health class that the purpose of citations is to place your argument among a broader discussion and prove that your claims are veritable. When I think of a “Works Cited” page instead as a nice man just trying to do his job, it’s harder to resent him.

Mr. “Works Cited” really just wants to (1) make it easy for people to find what they are looking for, and (2) make you as an author look really good! For example, Mr. “Works Cited” wants to leave a trail of bread crumbs for those reading your paper so that they can easily find a source if they want to. But, he also wants to make you look good by building up your credibility. For example, if you cite some respected, well-known expert in whatever field you’re discussing, it makes you look smart. And that’s all we really care about right??

So next time, take it easy on Mr. “Works Cited,” he’s a nice guy once you get to know him.