When should you use in-text citations within your paper?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When thinking about in-text citations in academic writing, multiple situations require citing sources to give credit and avoid plagiarism.
Option 1: 'when paraphrasing' – Paraphrasing involves restating someone else’s ideas in your own words, which still requires a citation to acknowledge the original source.
Option 2: 'when directly quoting' – Direct quotes reproduce exact words from a source, which must be cited to indicate the source and page or location of the quote.
Option 3: 'when using generic information from another source' – Even information that seems generic or common in the field can originate from a source; if it’s drawn from someone else’s work, a citation is needed to attribute it. If the information is truly common knowledge, some styles may waive citation, but in many contexts you should still cite source material to be precise.
Option 4: 'all of the above' – This option asserts that citations are needed in all the scenarios listed, which aligns with standard academic practice: paraphrase requires citation, direct quotes require citation, and information derived from another source (even if it seems generic) typically requires citation.

To distinguish possibilities: if one believed paraphrase or quotes do not require citations, they would be mistaken; similarly, claiming generic information never needs citation would be inaccurate in most scholarly contexts. The safest, most accurate rule in standard citation practice is to cite whenever you are using someone else’s ideas, words, or data. This makes 'all of the above' a comprehensive correct choice in this set.

When should you use in-text citations within your paper?

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