Thank you for all the responses for my questions about citing =
information and common knowledge. Here are the responses:
I have heard of the "common knowledge" idea but I agree with you. What =
student (middle, high school, or college) is going to search through 5 =
encyclopedias to know whether something is common knowledge or not? Even =
though this information may not need to appear in quotes in the paper, =
the source should be listed in a bibliography.
****************
I guess it also depends on where you live. Illinois students have had =
Lincoln's Birthday as a school holiday for years, and would indeed know =
that his birthday is February 12.
This is one reason I have students make a "Works Consulted" list instead =
of solely a bibliography of works cited. Then, even if they do not =
quote a source directly, because they feel that something is common =
knowledge, it gives credit to the source as being in the background of =
the writing process. I explain that they would/should never knowingly =
use information without giving credit, but if their existing knowledge =
was in some way enhanced or clarified by what they read, the author was=20
credited as having been "consulted"
***********************
According to MLA 5th edition, what the high school teacher stated about =
citing anything (other than original work)that is not common knowledge =
is correct.
The problem you are facing is actually determining "WHAT IS COMMON =
KNOWLEDGE"
I like to use the following as a "general" guideline.... it is from the =
English Department at George Mason University:
What constitutes common knowledge can sometimes be precarious; what is =
common knowledge for one audience may not be so for another. In such =
situations, it is helpful to keep the reader in mind and to think of =
citations as being "reader friendly." In other words, writers provide a =
citation for any piece of information that they think their readers =
might want to investigate further. Not only is this attitude considerate =
of readers, it will almost certainly ensure that writers will not be =
guilty of plagiarism.
**************************
Information that is common knowledge -- Abraham Lincoln's birthday being =
an excellent example -- does not require a source citation. See, for =
example, The Chicago Manual of Style, section 10.4, for documentation of =
this common standard and some related points.
Whether you would want young students to footnote that sort of thing for =
other reasons would be a different matter, but such source citations =
would be at odds with standard style.
In professional writing "common knowledge" not requiring citing is =
correct. However, kids are not professionals and as you point out have =
limited knowledge of 'ck" and only gain it through doing the research =
process you wish to share with them. I would say that when they take =
down info to use that is not their own mental thinking about it they =
need to cite their sources.
I was told in one of my grad school classes to follow this guideline: =
Provide citations for all direct quotations and paraphrases, for =
borrowed ideas, and for facts that do not belong to general knowledge.
One example of general knowledge that was given was that George =
Washington was the first President of the United States. I am not sure =
that I agree with the example your teacher provided of Lincoln's =
birthday being Feb. 12 as general
knowledge. It seems a little specific.
I hope this helps. In some respects I think "general knowledge" is a =
judgment call, but when in doubt, I cite!
*******************************
When quoting, students for sure need to cite. When taking information =
and rearranging/synthesizing, students also need to cite. When stating =
facts that are or should be generally known, students should still cite =
the source where they located the information. Maybe a student would =
not use a quote any place within the paper, does this mean that they =
pulled the information for the paper out of thin air? No, they have =
read the facts somewhere, and the source needs to be cited.
Just an example... http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html from =
Indiana University, Bloomington,... there is information about what is =
"common knowledge."
What the English teacher states then basically falls under the "common =
knowledge" information that most people should know and which would NOT =
be cited in a paper.
The idea that most students might NOT know this information speaks =
volumes about what is and is not being taught; therefore, what we =
believe is "common knowledge" among individuals from our generation, may =
NOT be common
knowledge among our increasingly-diverse student populations. Perhaps =
the writer's audience should also be considered when you make your final =
decision about whether information should be cited or if it should be =
considered "common knowledge."
To be balanced in this argument, I would then suggest that IF a student =
SHOULD be familiar with this information from American History / Social =
Studies in order to pass a high school exit exam or to received a GED, =
then it should be considered "common knowledge" and not be cited in a =
written work.
*********************=20
"Common Knowledge" seems to imply the writer already knows it, but =
really means that it is a fact that is not in dispute and is normally =
included in a basic reference source.=20
Maybe looking at the Bibliography as a list of everything that was used =
or consulted in researching the topic rather than just the material =
cited in the work makes it more clear. You don't need a parenthetical =
cite for Lincoln's birthday, but a basic encyclopedia article would be =
included in the bib.
Some resources that discuss 'common knowledge' and citations
http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/docs/incorp.html =20
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~words/plagiarism/citations.html
http://tutorial.lib.umn.edu/infomachine.asp?moduleID=3D10&lessonID=3D28 =
=20
I've not seen the 'five general encyclopedias' as a rule for that. Would =
be a bit redundant and hard to double (or rather 5xcheck) those. Maybe =
use something like 'if it's in the textbook', or 'if you see it twice'.
And while the 'common knowledge' aspect is somewhat common knowledge, I =
think I would ask the English teacher to cite their sources on that one. =
Especially if you are working on a document that would be considered =
official or standard for the district. There is plenty of writing and =
research resources out there to base a decision on.=20
I remember an old parody research paper, everything was footnoted, to =
the extent there was one or two sentences, then a short line and a long =
set of footnotes with lots of digressive discussion.
I would think that if you force the students to footnote/attribute even =
"common knowledge" such as Abraham Lincoln's b'day, you would have a =
page full of footnote superscripts and it would be totally unreadable, =
plus the kids would think it's a punishment, rather than a valid method.
Do you think that 2/12/1809 is NOT common knowledge for students in =
grades 6-12?? Or that they couldn't find it easily even if all they use =
is World Book?
Nancy O'Donnell
Library Media Specialist
Hoover Middle School
249 Thorncliff Rd.
Buffalo, New York 14223
odonn247@adelphia.net
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