Editing Encyclopedia:Citing sources (section)

===Keeping citations close===

Editors should exercise caution when rearranging or inserting material to ensure that text–source relationships are maintained. References should not be moved if doing so might break the text–source relationship.

When new text is inserted into a paragraph, make sure it is supported by the existing source or a new source. If a sentence or paragraph is footnoted with a source, adding new material that is not supported by the existing source to it, without a source for the new text, is highly misleading if placed so as to appear that the cited source supports it. For example, when editing text originally reading
<blockquote style="background:white; padding:1em; border:1px solid #999;"><!--code for display-->
The Sun is pretty big.<sup id="nbFoot01a" class="reference">[[#noteFoot01a|[1]]]</sup>
<br /><br />
<span style="font-size:medium">Notes</span>
----
<ol class="references">
<li id="noteFoot01a"
>'''[[#nbFoot01a|^]]''' Miller, Edward. ''The Sun''. Academic Press, 2005, p. 1.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
an edit that does not imply that the new material is supported by the same reference is
<blockquote style="background:white; padding:1em; border:1px solid #999;"><!--code for display-->
The Sun is pretty big.<sup id="nbFoot01a" class="reference">[[#noteFoot01a|[1]]]</sup> The Sun is also quite hot.<sup id="nbFoot03a" class="reference">[[#noteFoot03a|[2]]]</sup>
<br /><br />
<span style="font-size:medium">Notes</span>
----
<ol class="references">
<li id="noteFoot01a"
>'''[[#nbFoot01a|^]]''' Miller, Edward. ''The Sun''. Academic Press, 2005, p. 1.</li>
<li id="noteFoot03a"
>'''[[#nbFoot03a|^]]''' Smith, John. ''The Sun's Heat''. Academic Press, 2005, p. 2.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>

Do not add other facts or assertions into a fully cited paragraph or sentence:

<blockquote style="background:white; padding:1em; border:1px solid #999;"><!--code for display-->{{cross}}
The Sun is pretty big, but the Moon is not so big.<sup id="nbFoot01a" class="reference">[[#noteFoot01a|[1]]]</sup> The Sun is also quite hot.<sup id="nbFoot03a" class="reference">[[#noteFoot03a|[2]]]</sup>
<br /><br />
<span style="font-size:medium">Notes</span>
----
<ol class="references">
<li id="noteFoot01a"
>'''[[#nbFoot01a|^]]''' Miller, Edward. ''The Sun''. Academic Press, 2005, p. 1.</li>
<li id="noteFoot03a"
>'''[[#nbFoot03a|^]]''' Smith, John. ''The Sun's Heat''. Academic Press, 2005, p. 2.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>

Include a source to support the new information. There are several ways to write this, including:

<blockquote style="background:white; padding:1em; border:1px solid #999;"><!--code for display-->{{tick}}
The Sun is pretty big,<sup id="nbFoot01a" class="reference">[[#noteFoot01a|[1]]]</sup> but the Moon is not so big.<sup id="nbFoot02a" class="reference">[[#noteFoot02a|[2]]]</sup> The Sun is also quite hot.<sup id="nbFoot03a" class="reference">[[#noteFoot03a|[3]]]</sup>
<br /><br />
<span style="font-size:medium">Notes</span>
----
<ol class="references">
<li id="noteFoot01a"
>'''[[#nbFoot01a|^]]''' Miller, Edward. ''The Sun''. Academic Press, 2005, p. 1.</li>
<li id="noteFoot02a"
>'''[[#nbFoot02a|^]]''' Brown, Rebecca. "Size of the Moon", ''Scientific American'', 51 (78): 46.</li>
<li id="noteFoot03a"
>'''[[#nbFoot03a|^]]''' Smith, John. ''The Sun's Heat''. Academic Press, 2005, p. 2.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>