Types of Sources | Tips & Examples

When you are researching a topic, you will need to consult and use various types of sources. The most common source types in scholarly writing include:

  • Books
  • Academic journals
  • Newspapers
  • Websites
  • Encyclopedias

As your writing process develops, you will probably adapt the types of sources you use. An initial stage of researching definitions and overviews might lead you to a website or encyclopedia. As your research goes deeper you will access books and journals (scholarly sources).

Tip
QuillBot’s tools can help you during the research and writing process. For example, our Summarizer tool can help you summarize articles or other sources. Also, our Citation Generator can help ensure you are citing your sources correctly.

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Principal vs Principle | Definition & Examples

Both principle and principal have the same pronunciation but their meanings are different.

  • Principal can be used as a noun to refer to someone in authority, someone who commits a crime, and the capital portion of a loan. As an adjective it means “primary” or “most important.”
  • Principle is also a noun, and it refers to standards or rules, especially in law, science, or ethics.
Examples: Principal in a sentence Examples: Principle in a sentence
The school principal was very popular with both students and faculty. As a matter of principle, Jenny never used the self-service checkout.
The report’s principal conclusions were later questioned by critics. The scientific principle of conservation of mass states that matter cannot be created or destroyed.

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What Is a Sentence Fragment? | Examples & Definition

A sentence fragment is a piece of writing that looks like a sentence but is grammatically incomplete. This is normally because it is missing a subject or a verb.

Sentence fragments can usually be spotted quite easily because they do not express a complete thought. They always lack at least one piece of information that is key to understanding the meaning.

Sentence fragment examples
  • My lucky day.
  • Since it was their turn.
  • The green, green grass of home.

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