Is it Okay to Copy and Paste a Citation into my Works Cited Page?
Answer
To clarify the question, I will explain further. Many reputable websites, such as college libraries and online writing labs and databases, will provide source citations for the researcher in whichever format (MLA, APA, Chicago) they may need. This seems like a wonderful service, and it can be! Most professors usually do not have rules against copying and pasting sources into your reference lists (although it is always necessary to check your syllabus for specific rules and guidelines for that particular class). However, problems can occur in the copy-and-paste process that may cause errors in your citation entry.
For example, this is an entry that was in MLA style in Galileo, which should be trustworthy, and was spaced correctly before being copied and pasted. Now, however, the spacing and hanging indentions are off. Usually when pasting a citation into Word or Google Docs, the process drops any italics that were present. Therefore, make sure to go back and refer to the original citation or the MLA handbook for accuracy and make all of those detailed changes. It may seem tedious, but it could be the difference between an A and a B.
See the attachment for an example of how the copy and paste process can affect your citation.