What doesn't need to be cited?
Asked by: Fatima Lowe | Last update: December 29, 2025Score: 4.6/5 (66 votes)
Listed below are a few items you generally don't need to cite no matter which citation style you use. Your own personal/anecdotal information or experiences. Your own arguments or opinions. Your own videos, photographs, and other artwork you've created.
What are 5 things that don't need to be cited?
When you use your own artwork, digital photographs, video, audio, etc. When you are using "common knowledge," things like folklore, common sense observations, myths, urban legends, and historical events (but not historical documents)
What is not necessary to cite?
When writing about yourself or your lived experiences, a citation is not necessary. Original ideas, including the write-up of results from your own research or projects, do not require citations.
Which of the following does not need to be cited?
In general, if it's your words, your opinion, your photo, or your graph, of course, you don't need to cite it. HOWEVER, if you are using information from one of your own previously published works (journal article, book chapter, etc.), you MUST cite it just as you would cite another author's work.
What are sources not cited?
Not citing sources properly could imply that the ideas, information, and phrasing you are using are your own, when they actually originated with another author. Plagiarism doesn't just mean copy and pasting another author's words.
Avoiding Plagiarism: When Should I Cite a Source?
Which types of information do not require a citation?
- facts that are found in many sources (ex: Marie Antoinette was guillotined in 1793.)
- things that are easily observed (ex: Many people talk on cellphones while driving.)
- common sayings (ex: Every man has his price.)
Which information is not included in a citation?
Citing Sources with Missing Information
In general, resources are cited using the author, year of publication, title, source, and additional information depending on the resource type. If you cannot find something like a link, DOI number, volume number, etc. you may omit that information.
Do proverbs need to be cited?
Proverbs, sayings, and cliches do not need to be cited. Examples: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Curiosity killed the cat.
Which statement needs to be cited?
You must cite the source when you...
Mention someone's ideas. Summarize a source. Quote someone's exact words. (In addition to citing the source, you must also indicate that the words are a quotation, and not your own words.)
Which source types do not typically have citations?
Websites often don't cite their sources, and they typically don't subject their content to peer review. For these reasons, you should carefully consider whether any web sources you use are appropriate to cite or not. Some websites are more credible than others.
Which statement does not require you to cite the source?
You Do Not Need to Cite When
You are writing about your own lived experiences, your own observations and insights, your own thoughts, and your own conclusions about a subject. You are writing up your own results obtained through lab or field experiments.
Do paraphrases need to be cited?
Paraphrasing ALWAYS requires a citation. Even if you are using your own words, the idea still belongs to someone else.
What can be avoided by citing your sources?
By failing to cite, you are falsely portraying someone else's ideas as your own; this is considered plagiarism, which is a form of cheating.
How many words can you use without citing?
Generally speaking, you may use three--possibly four--consecutive words (excluding such words as "the," "and," "if," and "in") without quotation marks or footnote. For example, "Italian Renaissance Art" and "Italian Renissance painting and sculpture" are common phrases and it's hard to find a graceful alternatives.
What type of knowledge does not need to be cited?
The only source material that you can use in an essay without attribution is material that is considered common knowledge and is therefore not attributable to one source. Common knowledge is information generally known to an educated reader, such as widely known facts and dates, and, more rarely, ideas or language.
Do all facts need to be cited?
Facts that are generally accessible (the date of the Declaration of Independence, for instance) need not be cited to a particular source, but once you go up one level of detail on the information ladder, you probably need to cite the source (the number of people who signed the Declaration, for instance).
What are the 5 things that must be cited?
- Quotations, opinions, and predictions, whether directly quoted or paraphrased.
- Statistics derived by the original author.
- Visuals in the original.
- Another author's theories.
- Case studies.
What needs to be cited and what doesn't?
In general, you must document sources when you provide information that you ordinarily would not have known before conducting your research, and when you provide information that it cannot be assumed the reader knows. You must cite a reference when you: Discuss, summarize, or paraphrase the ideas of an author.
Do equations need to be cited?
A reader may be referencing equations, paragraphs, or subsections individually, which is why the citation should always be clear for individual equations throughout. You may weave the source into the narrative; for example: The author applied the X method [4], to describe ...
What are two things that do not need to be cited?
- Your own personal/anecdotal information or experiences.
- Your own arguments or opinions.
- Your own videos, photographs, and other artwork you've created.
- "Common knowledge"- This one is a little tricky to distinguish.
Can the Bible be cited?
You do not need to include the Bible in your bibliography. When citing a passage of scripture, include the abbreviated name of the book, the chapter number, and the verse number—never a page number. Chapter and verse are separated by a colon.
Do you have to cite George Washington's birthday?
You don't have to use quotation marks when you quote an author as long as you cite the author's name at the end of the paragraph. 10. The date for George Washington's birthday is common knowledge which means you don't have to cite the source in which you found it.
Which of the following information does not need to be cited?
If something is considered common knowledge, then it does not need to be cited and/or included in a reference list.
What information is missing from the citation?
Final answer: The missing information from the citation could include the URL, title of the article, name of the website, or the date of publication, depending on what is already provided, and the citation style used.
Which of the following do you not need to include in citation?
You do not need to include a citation for: common knowledge (commonly accepted facts) your own understanding and interpretation.