If You State Facts in the Beginning of Paper
What Is Mutual Knowledge? | Definition & Examples
In academic writing, "common noesis" refers to data that the average educated reader would have without needing a source citation to back it up.
There are two chief categories of common cognition:
- Information that almost people know
- Information shared by a specific group of people, such as a national or cultural grouping, or academics in a particular subject field
In academic writing it's normally essential to cite your sources, but statements that are considered common knowledge do not demand a citation.
Examples of common knowledge
Examples of common noesis include:
- Information that appears across many sources without a clear origin, such equally famous historical dates
- Long-established facts or theories that are foundational to a field, like key equations in physics
It does non include:
- Information and statistics gathered in empirical studies. These should always exist cited.
- Interpretations or arguments. If a statement could be reasonably disputed, provide a citation.
The examples below show how subtle the stardom can be:
APA is a common citation style used by students.
This is an undisputed and hands verified fact. It is common knowledge.
APA Style is mainly used in the social sciences, business, and nursing.
For a reader familiar with research, this is likely to be accepted as mutual knowledge. For a more full general readership, y'all might need to cite it.
APA Fashion is used in more than than 90,000 papers per year.
This is non an undisputed fact, and should be attributed to ane or more sources.
The Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest.
This is a widely known fact that yous tin assume whatsoever reader will accept. It's common knowledge.
Due to deforestation, the Amazon has been apace decreasing in size since the 1960s.
If you are writing an in-depth paper on the Amazon for an expert reader, this would probable exist accepted as mutual cognition. If you are writing a basic or introductory paper for a more general audience, you should provide a citation.
The cattle sector is responsible for 80% of deforestation in the Amazon.
This is a statistic derived from specific inquiry. It should be cited even if it is widely accustomed to be true. Yous should always give the source of whatever figures or statistics.
Practise I need a citation?
Common knowledge does non need to exist cited in your newspaper, considering it is widely known, undisputed, hands verified, and by and large not attributable to a specific writer.
To avoid plagiarism, it tin exist tempting to include a citation for every judgement, but in some cases over-citation tin can weaken your academic writing. If y'all are unsure whether or not a statement counts as common knowledge, ask yourself the questions below.
Who is my reader, and what can I assume they know?
Are you lot writing for a general audition or for experts in the field?
In academic writing, it'due south more likely that your reader will exist an expert, and you lot can assume a certain level of shared knowledge. But if you include data from a different field, you should cite it.
Could my reader dispute this statement?
If your reader might exist surprised past your statement, question its accuracy, or contest it with other data, it isn't common knowledge, and you lot should provide a citation.
If information technology'due south a foundational fact that everyone in the field agrees on, it's probably common knowledge.
Tin my reader easily verify this statement across multiple sources?
If you google it, tin you lot easily find more than than v scholarly sources that give the same information without citation? If so, it's probably common knowledge.
If some of the search results contradict each other or you have to dig further to find the facts, you should provide a citation.
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Common cognition test
Oft asked questions about plagiarism
- Do I have to cite common knowledge?
-
Common knowledge does not demand to be cited. However, you should be extra careful when deciding what counts every bit common knowledge.
Common knowledge encompasses information that the average educated reader would have as truthful without needing the extra validation of a source or citation.
Common noesis should be widely known, undisputed and easily verified. When in doubt, always cite your sources.
- Can plagiarism be accidental?
-
Accidental plagiarism is 1 of the most common examples of plagiarism. Perchance you forgot to cite a source, or paraphrased something a bit too closely. Perhaps you tin can't remember where you lot got an idea from, and aren't totally certain if it's original or not.
These all count as plagiarism, even though yous didn't do it on purpose. When in doubt, make sure y'all're citing your sources. Also consider running your piece of work through a plagiarism checker tool prior to submission, which piece of work by using advanced database software to scan for matches between your text and existing texts.
Scribbr's Plagiarism Checker takes less than 10 minutes and can help yous turn in your paper with confidence.
- How is plagiarism detected?
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Plagiarism tin exist detected by your professor or readers if the tone, formatting, or style of your text is dissimilar in unlike parts of your newspaper, or if they're familiar with the plagiarized source.
Many universities also use plagiarism detection software like Turnitin's, which compares your text to a large database of other sources, flagging whatever similarities that come up.
It can be easier than you call up to commit plagiarism past accident. Consider using a plagiarism checker prior to submitting your paper to ensure you haven't missed any citations.
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