Citing sources has always been a challenge for students, yet remains a key academic skill, especially in general education courses. The online platform Cite it! offers engaging, interactive tutorials to help students develop their citation skills.
The Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique (CCDMD) recently released an updated version of the platform featuring improved tutorials and a certificate of achievement that students can earn by completing a test at the end.
What is it?
Created by Anne Woodrow, a Humanities teacher at John Abbott College, Cite it! was first published on one of the CCDMD website in 2016. The 2025 version offers updated, interactive, and easy-to-follow tutorials. Whether used by teachers in the classroom as a teaching resource or at home as a reference tool for students, this platform helps students build good documentation habits in all disciplines. It features 4 documentation style guides:
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)
- The Council of Science Editors (CSE)
- Modern Language Association of America (MLA)
Once a style is selected, the tutorial walks students through 5 steps to help them develop efficient and thorough citation practices:
- Confirm the documentation style
- Collect source information (identifying information)
- Always show where your ideas come from (paraphrasing, direct quoting)
- Cite your sources (books, e-books, films, journals, websites, etc.)
- Format your document
Each step includes concise written explanations paired with interactive exercises to assess students’ understanding, which can be verified immediately with a “Check” button.
Example of an interactive activity in the “Identifying Information” section for APA style.
Earning a certificate
After completing all 5 steps, students can take a final test to evaluate their understanding. A score of 80% or higher earns them a certificate of achievement. They can retake the test as many times as they wish.
Example of the certificate students receive after successfully completing the APA tutorial test.
Additional resources
Cite it! also includes a variety of additional materials to help students and teachers deepen their understanding of citation and documentation:
- PDF coaching sheets (quick reference guides covering key documentation rules)
- sample papers and useful links (paraphrasing resources, citation tools, bibliography tools, etc.)
- a glossary of citation terms
Why use Cite it!?
If, as a teacher, you’ve ever struggled to get your students to cite properly, Cite it! provides a practical, reliable solution. At the college level, accurate citation is a required skill, but students arrive with very different levels of understanding, experience, and diligence. Many unintentionally submit work that doesn’t meet referencing standards, often because they don’t fully grasp why correct citation is important or because expectations vary across courses and departments.
Cite it! helps to address these challenges. Here are a few key benefits:
- Comprehensive training without extra prep
Students are given clear explanations, concrete examples, and self-checking exercises for all 4 major citation styles. They practise independently while teachers save valuable class time.
- Flexibility in any teaching context
The platform can be used during class, assigned as homework, or be available for students to revisit whenever needed. It works on any device, making learning easy to fit into their study habits.
- Consistency across courses
With many disciplines requiring documentation at the CEGEP level, Cite it! offers a shared reference that reinforces uniform expectations across disciplines.
- Stronger academic integrity
By demystifying paraphrasing, quoting, and source identification, the platform helps reduce unintentional plagiarism, and supports students in developing responsible research practices.
- Ready-to-use support materials
Printable coaching sheets, sample papers, and curated links provide quick reference tools for both students and teachers, extending learning beyond the tutorials.
Cite it! makes teaching documentation easier, more consistent, and more engaging. I invite you to try it in your classrooms and see how it can save time while helping your students gain confidence in their research skills. Please share your experiences in the comments below!
