Not Every Fact Needs to be Cited

Any time you directly quote or paraphrase, you must cite the source of the sentence or passage you used. But there is an exception to the rule that you must cite every fact, date, or name mentioned in your assignments. To put it simply: facts that are considered "common knowledge" do not have to be cited.

There is no infallible, definite rule for determining when a fact is "common knowledge." Speaking very broadly, if a fact is generally known and agreed to, it may be regarded as common knowledge. This means that not only such facts as that the U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, but also the fact that Charles Dickens was born on February 7th, 1812, and that most humans are born with ten fingers and toes, and that many people believe that the 2003 war in Iraq was not sufficiently justified are all common knowledge.

There are clues to which "facts" may not be common knowledge. In your research, watch out for opinions, interpretations, judgments, speculations, theories, claims, and assertions. More often than not, such texts will need to be cited. Also watch out for "facts" that are discussed in such a way that it's clear the author is trying to establish or disprove them, in other words, facts that are controversial. These will probably need to be cited.

For the most part, common knowledge can consist of:

• Facts that are found in such resources as encyclopedias, textbooks, and standard historical works
• Facts that are found un-cited in at least four other sources
• Facts that you knew before you sat down to research your paper or speech