Writing a Paper for Me

Why should you acknowledge your sources, those other voices in the conversation in which you participate as a scholar? Anthony Griffeth¹ has this to say:

Citations reflect the careful and thorough work you have put into locating and exploring your sources.
Citations are a courtesy to the reader, who may share your interest in a particular area of scholarship. They help readers understand the context of your argument, and locate your work within other conversations on your topic.
Citations allow you to acknowledge those authors who made possible particular aspects of your work. Failure to provide adequate citations constitutes plagiarism.
Citations, by delineating your intellectual debts, also draw attention to the originality and legitimacy of your own ideas. As one historian of the footnote has observed, citations "confer authority" on the writer.

To which I would add, it's the law both of the U.S. government and Millersville University. Admittedly, it is highly unlikely that you would be sued for work mis-cited at university (which is a somewhat protected invironment), you will be much more vulnerable when you graduate. So, to protect your professional and financial wellbeing, as well as your reputation, you need to have some idea of what copyright law says and how best to comply.

When do I have to acknowledge my sources?

When writing a paper using sources, you must make it absolutely clear which ideas and word choices are yours and which come from the source. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers states that "you must document everything that you borrow -- not only direct quotations and paraphrases but also information and ideas" (Gibaldi 33).

Information which can be identified as belonging to a particular person, group or document must be acknowledged in the text and through an alphabetically ordered Works Cited page that provides the full bibliographic information of the sources used. The operative word is particular, meaning that the information is not generally known and commonly repeated.

Consistency in documentation is essential, for readers will become familiar with the system you begin using and will be confused if you switch styles.

Common Knowledge: There are times when you do not have to document sources. For instance, you do not generally have to document familiar proverbs such as "To kill to birds with one stone" or "common Knowledge." Common Knowledge is information generally known and commonly accepted in a given field. A general rule of thumb is that common knowledge information is repeated in and can be easily accessed through at least three sources. The information is also commonly accepted as correct in a given field of study. For example, you don't have to acknowledge statements like "Nathaniel Hawthorne was a nineteenth-century writer" or "James Baldwin wrote Go Tell it on the Mountain." The words "familiar," "common" and "commonly accepted" are bolded, for they are the operative words defining these types of information.

When in doubt, document the source.

Note.

1. Anthony Grafton, The Footnote: A Curious History (Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1997) 8.

Work Cited

Grafton, Anthony. The Footnote: A Curious History (Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1997) 8.

Millersville University. "Academic Integrity At Millersville." (n.a.) 2008 Date found; July 15, 2008 at http://www.millersville.edu/english/community/acadint/.

"Tips for Preparing Academically Honest Work." Millersville University 2008 Date found: July 15, 2008 at http://www.millersville.edu/english/community/acadint/pospractices.php

U.S. Copyright Office. Copyright Law of the United States." (circular 92) October 2007 Date found: July 11, 2008 at http://www.copyright.gov/title17/.

Millersville University. "Academic Dishonesty." (PDF) April 2001. Date found: June 2, 2001 at http://www.millersville.edu/~campus/Academic_Honesty_Report_of_Violation.PDF

2002; Last revised July 14, 2008
Dr. Bonnie Duncan
bduncan@millersville.edu
1-717-871-2080
English Department
Millersville University
Millersville, PA 17551

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