Do you have to cite a source when you talk about some historical background?
I am writing a research paper on the autobiographical aspects of “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka and I am giving some background on his life in parts of it. Do I have to cite sources for this? I read about his life from at least four different sources and I am using quotes from some.
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Yes you do. Unless it can be considered to be common knowledge. Barack Obama is the President of the United States. Uluru is in Australia. However, the background of Frank Kafka’s life is not general knowledge. You therefore need to cite your sources. Keep in mind this shows the breadth of your research. It isn’t a negative.
If in doubt, footnote! Anything that isn’t 100% your words, even if you paraphrased and restructured you should cite. Also if you’re approaching your word limit, footnotes are a great way to bend it :-).
Yes you have to cite your sources.
Yes; sources should be listed in the Works Cited page at the end. However, if you are listing a fact that is incontrovertible from several sources such as his birth date, you do not have to have a citation for that. Just cite facts that are unique to one source or anything you paraphrase or quote.
Absolutely. Unless it’s general knowledge, like, for example, “The World Trade Center attacks took place on the morning of September 11, 2001”, you definitely have to cite it.
The rule I remember was if you can find the same fact cited in something like five or more sources, it’s probably okay. For instance, Kafka was a German novelist associated with Prague is fine. To say he attended such a such a school and that influenced him in whatever way needs citation.
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