## 5.2 : When am I not required to reference my information sources?

There are situations where you do not have to refer:

- When you state a well-known fact. This is a somewhat elastic concept, but a good criterion is that if your parents or siblings know this fact without having to look it up, it's considered common knowledge.

Well-known fact: the start and end date of World War I (1914-1918); the name of the current chancellor of Germany (Olaf Scholz).

A lesser-known fact: the start and end date of the Third Punic War (149-146 BC); the name of the Madagascar Senate president who served in between 2008-2009 (Yvan Randriasandratriniony).

- Whether the information originates completely from yourself. It is quite possible that you developed your own line of thought from the information sources. Similar ideas, positions or interpretations originate with you and therefore do not have a source.

Tip! When in doubt, use a source citation.