You need to cite:
You don’t need to cite your own opinions and insight, and you don’t need to cite facts that are common knowledge (information repeated in multiple sources that is widely known or accepted as a fact).
When in doubt, it's best to cite.
If your professor has given specific instructions about the citation style you should use or how citations should be formatted for their assignments, always follow those instructions.
Why do you need to cite sources?
While preparing a research paper, you will gather information that supports your ideas, which you find in works created by others. A citation gives your reader the information needed to locate these works. If you don't credit the authors by citing their works in your paper, you are committing plagiarism, which is not acceptable at Northampton Community College.
For help with citations, pick up one of these handouts at any campus Library or Learning Center, or view the handouts online, at the links below:
