What To Cite
You must cite:
- Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge
- Ideas, theories, or language that is highly debatable
- Books, book chapters, articles, web pages, theses, etc. when you are summarizing and paraphrasing
- Another person's exact words should be quoted and cited to show proper credit
Don't cite:
- Statements of your own insight
- Statements of common knowledge
What is Common Knowledge?
- Common knowledge is information known by most educated people or can be found out easily in an encyclopedia or dictionary.
Examples of common knowledge include:
- The Eifel Tower is located in Paris.
- Facebook is a social media network.
- An equilateral triangle is a triangle with three equal sides.
- The sun sets in the west.
When in doubt if something can be considered common knowledge, be safe and cite your source!