Citing Sources: When You Don't Need to Cite - Davidson College.
If the name of the city and state is part of the college or university name, you do not need to write it. Otherwise, type the college followed by the city and state. If the work is not related to a school, such as an unpublished book, do not write any information relating to the city or state.
To Cite or Not to Cite.. so it might be hard to distinguish between information that needs to be cited and documented and information that is considered “general knowledge.”. then it was considered “general knowledge” and did not need to be cited. However, in the age of the internet, information is at our finger tips, so it’s no.
A good rule of thumb for any writer is to go ahead and use a citation when you're not certain whether or not the citation is necessary. The only risk in doing this is littering your paper with unnecessary citations that will drive your teacher crazy.
Don’t cite when you are stating common knowledge. What is common knowledge is sometimes difficult to discern. In general, quick facts like historical dates or events are not cited because they are common knowledge. Examples of information that would not need to be cited include: The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
One sign that something is community knowledge is that it is stated in 5 or more sources. So, if it’s known to educated people, or can be easily looked up, or appears in many sources, it is likely to be “common knowledge” and so does not need to be cited.
You need not cite sources to what most would generally consider common knowledge, like the fact that Lincoln won the Presidential election of 1860. But you must cite your source for any claim that appears to contradict common knowledge, like that Lincoln won the southern states in that election (since he wasn't even on the ballot in most southern states, this claim is controversial and must be.
Depending on the type of citation scheme used, you likely do not need to re-cite the author's name(s) in the parenthetical citation if all authors are already listed in the paragraph proper. However, you will need to cite the year of publication for the article within parentheses at the first possible opportunity.