This document discusses why documentation is important, the types of documentation styles, and how to create citations. It explains that acknowledging sources is important to avoid plagiarism and unethical practices. The two most common documentation styles for academic essays are MLA and APA. Proper documentation includes creating a works cited list and in-text citations. A works cited list provides publication details for all cited sources, arranged alphabetically. In-text citations give credit to ideas from other authors and include the author's name and publication year in parentheses within the text.