A citation gives credit to the source of information.
You do NOT need to cite your own words.*
You do need to cite words if they were someone else's.
*Researchers will cite themselves. If they are referencing a paper that they wrote at an earlier time, then they will cite that paper.
For your classes, your professor will tell you which Citation Style you must follow. At ILCC, that will most likely be either APA or MLA (see below).
Quotation: the exact words that someone else used
Paraphrase: not the exact words; expresses the same ideas using different words
Summary: briefly breaks down what the author said in different words and with only the main ideas
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by 
Modern Language Association Handbook 8th Edition
MLA Handbook by 1. It is required by your professor and the college. Failure to cite may result in a failure of the assignment, class, or termination from college. Professors have software that can determine the similarities between your words and those of others.
2. As part of Academic Integrity, you are avoiding Plagiarism, which is the purposeful or non-purposeful use of someone else’s words or ideas.
3. It allows your reader to be able to locate the sources that you are referencing in order to verify or conduct their own research.
4. It also demonstrates how your research is built upon the research of others and differentiates between your unique words and thoughts and those of others.
