Citing your information means attributing or giving credit to the source. Cite any information that is not common knowledge. You do not have to cite information that is commonly known by the general population. For example, you do not have to cite that the United States is a country. However, if you are giving population statistics from the last U.S. Census, you need to cite. Whether you are writing a paper in APA, MLA or another format, you must acknowledge your sources to avoid plagiarism.
Quotes lend credibility to papers and can help illustrate your points. However, a failure to indicate you have taken an author's material verbatim (word-for-word) constitutes plagiarism. Place quotation marks around any phrases or passages taken directly from a source. Even if you cite the material, you are still committing plagiarism if you do not distinguish verbatim content as a quote.
Copying and pasting material from a source constitutes plagiarism. With today's technological advances, the habit of copying and pasting may lead to inadvertent plagiarism. Remember that you must cite all information from your sources, regardless of whether you have paraphrased, summarized or quoted the material. If you can't decide if certain information in your paper should be cited, be cautious and cite it anyway. Copy and paste with care. Enclose verbatim material within quotation marks and include a citation.
Purchasing, copying or borrowing a paper constitutes the most obvious and most serious type of plagiarism. In the information age, students may be tempted to search the Internet for papers available free or for purchase. Students who are facing serious time constraints or have little confidence that they can complete original work on their own are the most vulnerable to this temptation. Allow yourself ample time to research and write your paper or create your project. Clarify and review guidelines and expectations to gain confidence in your work.