When to Cite Sources

pla·gia·rism

/ˈplājəˌrizəm/
noun

the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.
"there were accusations of plagiarism"

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to take careful notes. In research, you should cite everything you borrow unless that information is common knowledge.

WHAT IS “COMMON KNOWLEDGE”?

Consider information common knowledge if:

  •  reliable authors refer to it without citing its source
  • most people knowledgeable in the field accept it as a fact
  • few experts would dispute it
  • it is reported in most introductory textbooks or basic reference books on the subject

A good rule of thumb is that if the information is up for debate, then it is not common knowledge.

Note: Remember your audience (which in this case is high school students and teachers). What is common knowledge among brain surgeons may not be common knowledge among high school teachers. You must decide what is “news” to your audience.

If in doubt, cite the source.


QUOTATION GUIDELINES

Quote selectively from your sources. Avoid quoting long chunks. Your essay should be written mostly in your own voice (using the "I" rarely, if ever), with no more than 15% direct quotation. Integrate direct quotations into your paragraphs using "sandwiches." Also, use names and credentials of authorities in your sentences to give the essay the feel of human voices discussing your topic (i.e. "According to Martin Jones, a researcher on kidney dialysis at the Maine Medical Center, ...").


TESTS FOR WHEN TO TAKE DIRECT QUOTATIONS FROM SECONDARY SOURCES

The author’s original satisfies one of these requirements:

  • The language is unusually vivid, bold, or inventive.
  • The quotation cannot be paraphrased (put into your own words) without distortion or loss of meaning.
  • The words themselves are at issue in your interpretation.
  • The quotation represents and emphasizes a body of opinion or the view of an important expert
  • The quotation emphatically reinforces your own idea.
  • The quotation is a graph, diagram, or table.

The quotation is as short as possible:

  • It includes only material relevant to your point.
  • It is edited to eliminate examples and other unneeded material.

CITING THE SOURCE IN YOUR PAPER

If you quote or even paraphrase an idea or fact that needs to be cited, the information needs to be followed with the last name of the author/editor and page number. If there is no author/editor, the title should be cited. Either should be cited in the exact way as cited on your Works Cited page so the reader can flip to that page and easily find the full information about your source.

Example of a paraphrase

290 Sioux men, women, and children surrendered at Wounded Knee Creek, but were slaughtered anyway. (Carnes 65)

Example of a direct quotation:

290 Sioux men, women, and children surrendered at Wounded Knee Creek, but were slaughtered anyway. (Carnes 65)