Recognising Common Knowledge
The extract on the left was written by Matthew Davis in an online journal in 2006.
One student read Davis's article and wanted to write something similar in her UTS assignment.
From the journal article
A huge free source for information, Wikipedia is composed of articles written and freely edited by users.
From the student's assigment
Wikipedia is made up of articles that the users of the site either write or edit themselves (Davis 2006).
In this case, a reference is not necessary because, amongst students today, a general description of Wikipedia is common knowledge. This information is known by many people, and referred to in many sources.
The same student read more of Davis's article and this time she decided not to give reference details.
From the journal article
Founded in 2001, Wikipedia boasts a database of over 3.7 million articles and is ranked the 37th most visited website.
From the student's assignment
Wikipedia began in 2001 and is now the 37th most visited website in the world. Currently it has more than 3.7 million articles.
This time her writing is unacceptable. Specific details about Wikipedia are not common knowledge. She should provide reference details.
It is sometimes difficult to know what information is common knowledge. Common knowledge may be:
- information you have seen in several books, papers or websites
- information your lecturer expects everyone in your class to know already
- well-known historical events, geographical and scientific facts
- something that 'everybody knows'.
When in doubt, provide a reference.