 Sometimes, it doesn't seem clear whether you should cite something or not in your paper. In this video, we'll see when you need to and when you don't. Writing a paper is like participating in a scholarly conversation on your topic. The purpose of citing is to acknowledge and give credit to what others have said already and to distinguish that from what you are contributing. So anytime you use someone else's words, you need to cite. Make sure every direct quotation has quotation marks around it so people know your quoting. But you also need to cite if you use someone's ideas, even if you don't use their words. You'll need to cite if you summarize or paraphrase someone's ideas in your own words so you don't claim those ideas as your own. If you're using statistics or data compiled by someone else, like Statistics Canada, you also need to cite to acknowledge the work someone did to compile it. And if you use an image you download from the web, you need to cite it too. If you don't, you're claiming you created it yourself. But what don't you need to cite? If something is common knowledge, you don't need to cite it. Common knowledge can be a bit tricky if you're new to a subject and don't know what everyone knows, so if you aren't sure, you should cite. Since citing is meant to give credit to others, you don't need to cite your own thoughts or ideas, images you create yourself or data you collect and compile. Normally your thoughts are based on things you read, which is fine. Just make sure you cite the sources that influenced your thinking, and be clear about what you've got directly from others and what is your own thinking, analysis or interpretation. If you don't cite when you need to, you're claiming the work of others as your own, which is plagiarism. So if you're not sure, you should always cite. Check out our related videos on how to cite in various styles. They're available at library.wlu.ca. If you have any questions, ask us at library.wlu.ca.