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The easiest way to start citing on Wikipedia is to see a basic example. The example here will show you how to cite a newspaper article using the {} template (see Citation quick reference for other types of citations). Copy and paste the following immediately after what you want to reference:
xkcd webcomic titled "Wikipedian Protester". The sign says: "[CITATION NEEDED]".[1]A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of acknowledging the relevance of the works of others to the topic of ...
A general reference is a citation to a reliable source that supports content, but is not linked to any particular text in the article through an inline citation. General references are usually listed at the end of the article in a "References" section, and are usually sorted by the last name of the author or the editor.
There are three preferred ways of citing sources: Footnotes; Footnotes with list-defined references; Shortened footnotes; Citations can also be placed as external links, but these are not preferred because they are prone to link rot and usually lack the full information necessary to find the original source in cases of link rot.
The word "source" in Wikipedia has three meanings: the work itself (for example, a document, article, paper, or book), the creator of the work (for example, the writer), and the publisher of the work (for example, Cambridge University Press). All three can affect reliability.
The reference list shows the full citations with a cite label that matches the in-text cite. The cite label is a caret ^ with a backlink to the in-text cite. When a named in-text cite is invoked multiple times, multiple alphabetic back links are created after the cite label in the reference list.
Rather, summarize what the source says in your own words. Referencing. Reliable, independent sources (see above) are preferred over non-independent sources; Non-independent sources (like company websites or press releases) can be used to verify basic facts only. Blogs, social media, and tabloid journalism are generally not acceptable.
When editing, you'll see your reference next to the text; but after saving, readers will only see a reference number there; your reference should appear below. Good luck! If you get a warning about a missing "References" section at the end of the page, just add it: