Resources on Avoiding Plagiarism
Department of Political Science
Concordia University

III. How Not to Plagiarize
A. Rules for Quoting and Citing Sources

1. When to Cite:
A citation is required when using:
    a) Ideas found in a source.
    b) Facts that are not common knowledge taken from a source.
    c) a paraphrase from a source. (The paraphrase must also be clearly your own words.) 

A citation can be either a footnote or endnote, or a parenthetical reference to a source listed in a bibliography or list of references.
The library has a helpful web page of Citation Style Guides that shows how to format citations according to the standard systems. If you aren't sure which citation system to use, ask your professor.

2. When to Quote:
A quotation and a citation are required when you use exact words from a source.
All of the words taken verbatim from a source must be in quotation marks. It is not permissible to change one or two words and present it as your own= .
Either use the source's exact words and quote and cite it, or rewrite it entirely in your own words, and cite it.

3. When Citations Are Not Required:
If you use facts that are found in a source but are also common knowledge (i.e., the Prime Minister of Canada is Justin Trudeau), you do not need to cite them. (When in doubt, cite.)


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