Skip to Main Content

Citing Your Sources

Learn how to properly cite sources in your research to maintain academic integrity, avoid plagiarism, and give credit to original ideas. This guide covers major citation styles, tools, and tips to help you cite with confidence.

 

Why do I have to cite?

When we use the words or ideas of another person without properly crediting the source, we are committing plagiarism, which is a violation of CUW's Academic Ethics Policy. Whether you are writing a paper, working on a presentation, or making a poster for a poster session, you must cite the information that you have used according to the guidelines of your discipline and/or your professors. 

Citations also help you in the research process to organize, connect, and build upon what others have said or discovered. Citations are a foundational block to academic research and give your arguments credibility and validity by allowing the reader to follow the research trail.

What do I cite?

You MUST cite:

  • Facts, figures, or other information that is not common knowledge
  • Ideas and theories attributed to others
  • Exact language used by another person in other publications
    • Publications that must be cited include (but not limited to) books, book chapters, journal articles, web pages, interviews, theses, etc.
    • Use quotation marks and give credit when you use someone else’s exact words

When in doubt--be safe and cite your source!

How do I avoid plagiarism?

Quoting

Quoting is to copy the exact words from a source, person, or document. This is fine as long as you place quotations around the passage you're quoting and properly cite the source. Be sure to:

  • Put quotation marks around everything that comes directly from the text.
  • Cite the source.

“While paraphrase and summary are effective ways to introduce your reader to someone’s ideas, quoting directly from a text allows you to introduce your reader to the way those ideas are expressed by showing such details as language, syntax, and cadence.” –Harvard Guide to Using Sources

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is restating a passage or source using your own words. It is different from summarizing, but paraphrasing retains the same amount of detail as the original text and explains a specific idea or argument. There are acceptable and unacceptable ways to paraphrase, so being familiar with how to properly paraphrase is important to avoid plagiarism. Be sure to:

  • Rewrite the passage completely--do not just rearrange or replace a few words.
  • Read over what you want to paraphrase carefully so that you understand what the passage is saying and make sure you have accurately interpreted the text.
  • Compare your paraphrase to the original text to be sure that you haven't accidentally used the same phrases or words.

Visit Indiana University's Writing and Tutoring Center webpage on plagiarism to view examples of proper and improper paraphrasing.

Summarizing

Summarizing involves putting the main ideas of someone else into your own words. It is similar to paraphrasing, but it condenses a larger text into a shorter overview and is intended to highlight the main idea or key argument. It is often significantly shorter than the text being summarized.

Citing

Whether you are quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing, you must cite your sources whenever you use any research, ideas, or words that are not your own. If something is not general or common knowledge, you must cite where you found your information. 

In addition to in-text citations, you must also include a bibliography at the end of your paper that lists all sources used.

What is Considered Common Knowledge?

Generally, common knowledge is information that you can find, undocumented or uncited, in at least five credible sources. Common knowledge typically falls under one of these categories:

Historical Facts
  • George Washington was the first president of the United States.
  • The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
  • World War II ended in 1945.

These are widely known and found in many general sources.

Scientific Facts (Widely Accepted)
  • Water freezes at 0°C (32°F).
  • The Earth revolves around the Sun.
  • Humans have 206 bones in their bodies.

Basic scientific facts taught in school are often considered common knowledge.

Cultural References
  • Shakespeare wrote “Romeo and Juliet.”
  • The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
  • The internet became widely used in the 1990s.

These facts are familiar to most educated readers.

Geographical Information
  • The Amazon River is in South America.
  • Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
  • Paris is the capital of France.

These are widely known and found in many general sources.

Widely Known Statistics or Facts
  • There are 12 months in a year.
  • The average human body temperature is about 98.6°F (37°C).

These are generally known facts and found in many general sources.