When Don’t You Cite?

Don’t cite when what you are saying is your own insight. Research involves forming opinions and insights around what you learn. You may be citing several sources that have helped you learn, but at some point, you must integrate your own opinion, conclusion, or insight into the writing. When you don’t cite a sentence or section within your research, it indicates the content is your own opinion and original writing.

Don’t cite when you are stating common knowledge. What is considered common knowledge is sometimes difficult to discern. In general, quick facts, like common historical dates or events, are not cited because they are common knowledge.

Examples of information that would not need to be cited include:

• The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
• Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States in January, 2020.

Some quick facts, such as statistics, are trickier. For example, the number of gun-related deaths per year should be cited because there are a lot of ways this number could be determined (does the number include murder only or suicides and accidents as well?), and there might be different numbers provided by different organizations, each with an agenda about gun laws.

Another element that makes this determination difficult might be that what seems new and insightful to you might be common knowledge to an expert in the field. You have to use your best judgment and probably err on the side of over-citing as you are learning to do academic research. You can seek the advice of your instructor, a writing tutor, or a librarian. Knowing what is and is not common knowledge is a practiced skill that gets easier with time and with your own increased knowledge about a specific subject area. Test your knowledge using this 6-question quiz.

To Cite or Not To Cite: select which information must be cited.

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