<p>In the opening of my personal essay, I talk about an article in the New York Times catching my eye. I name the phrase in the title that intrigued me, very briefly describe a portion of this article, and quote the words of a contributor to that article.
Do I need to formally cite this? I feel like this is a dumb question, I haven't seen it addressed anywhere else on the internet, but I need an answer, lol.</p>
<p>Doubt you should formally cite. It’s not a research paper lol.</p>
<p>I claim no authority here, but such formality seems excessive for this type of essay.</p>