Prior to last semester, I had never heard of EndNote, or any software that managed files and citations. Therefore, while I tried to be very conscientious while writing, I would always have to proof my drafts over and over to make sure I had cited everyone whose work I had incorporated into my own document. I had trouble remembering to do this during the writing and typing itself, because it would always interfere with my “flow” because I would always get nervous if I were citing and referencing authors and their articles correctly, so I kept checking the MLA or APA or whatever guidelines I was using at the time.
Enter EndNote. This software does so much to help me keep different articles straight. There is a special form that is used when adding a new reference to the EndNote Library which the software can then use to allow ME to search through articles for specific authors, keywords, or publishing sources.
However, I believe that the most useful aspect of EndNote, especially to students who are unaccustomed to citing sources, is the integration of with the Microsoft Word software. The EndNote tab allows you to access your library of articles and cite from within Word itself, searching for the author or title of the article/book chapter/website. You can then use the integrated Endnote to edit the citation, create a bibliography, add page numbers, change your reference style….it’s simply beautiful.