A Letter To Students

This blog is what is called a secondary source. That means that it takes primary and secondary sources for it's information. Primary sources are the letters, recordings, paintings, diaries, interviews, speeches, etc... original to the actual event taking place.

Say you are writing a paper about Lincoln. Using sources such as original letters, his speeches, interviews of people who were actually there and newspaper articles about his current activities would be primary sources. Using a biography written about him is a secondary source, as would a newspaper article writing about, say, his death for the 150th anniversary of it.

Here are links to a few websites that explain further about primary and secondary sources and how to use them.
https://www.sccollege.edu/Library/Pages/primarysources.aspx
http://teachinghistory.org/best-practices/using-primary-sources/19080
http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/research/primary-secondary-tertiary.html

For students, I would highly recommend using the sources I have listed instead of or in addition to taking facts straight from my blog. It will give you more information and credibility. However you can cite blogs, unless your instructor specifically says otherwise!
http://content.easybib.com/citation-guides/mla-format/how-to-cite-a-blog-mla/

MLA Blog Cite Format

Plank, Rachel. "Article Title." Web Blog Post. Two, Story Library. Blogger, Date Published. Web. Date Accessed.

A note about Wikipedia:
Wikipedia is editable by the general public and I have had teachers that have admitted to changing information to see who used it. However it is a good spot to find legitimate references. Beware before using it as a source. When in doubt, don't.

And don't forget, plagerizm is a crime and you will get caught!

Good Luck!
- Rachel