Skip to Main Content

Citation Help

WHY CITE?

  • To Give Credit to Your Sources
  • To Place Your Writing in Context and Strengthen Your Arguments
  • To Leave a Path Back to Your Sources for Others to Follow

WHEN TO CITE

  • You quoted, paraphrased, or summarized from a source
  • You used a chart, graph, image or photograph that you did not create yourself
  • You referred to data or statistics or facts or ideas that are specific to a given source

WHEN NOT TO CITE

  • You have written your own ideas, or insight, or opinions.
  • You have referred to information that is considered common knowledge. It is a well known fact that most people would know. It appears across many sources. It is not specialized knowledge. Common knowledge is something that might appear in a general encyclopedia.