Lesson 536 of 2116
College+: Run a Citation Audit Before You Submit
A citation audit checks that every claim, quotation, and source still does what your draft says it does. Ask AI to create a claim-source checklist from your draft.
Lesson map
What this lesson covers
Learning path
The main moves in order
- 1Audit the Claims, Not Just the Bibliography
- 2citation audit
- 3claim checking
- 4quotation context
Concept cluster
Terms to connect while reading
Section 1
Audit the Claims, Not Just the Bibliography
A bibliography can look perfect while the paper still misuses evidence. A citation audit asks whether each cited source actually supports the sentence it is attached to.
- 1Highlight every sentence with a factual claim.
- 2Mark whether each claim has a source, common-knowledge status, or your own analysis.
- 3Ask AI to create a claim-source checklist from your draft.
- 4Open each source and verify the exact page, paragraph, figure, or timestamp.
- 5Rewrite claims that are stronger than the evidence.
Compare the options
| Problem | Audit question | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Citation drift | Does the source say exactly this? | Narrow the claim |
| Quote mining | What does the surrounding paragraph mean? | Add context or remove quote |
| Weak source | Is this primary, peer-reviewed, official, or credible? | Replace with stronger source |
| AI hallucinated citation | Can I open and verify it? | Delete and search again |
Key terms in this lesson
A citation audit protects your grade, but it also protects your thinking. You learn where your argument is strong and where it is borrowing confidence from weak evidence.
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