# Step 5: Using literature in your paper

When writing a paper, it must always be clear which ideas are your own and which information comes from other sources. This way, you show whose work you are building on or whose work you are commenting on.

Information obtained with a generative AI tool such as Copilot or ChatGPT is also not your own, and you are required to cite the source of the information in your assignment or paper.

If you use information that is not your own without citing the source, this is plagiarism. This is considered fraud and can have serious consequences.

There are several reasons to refer to literature:

- You give other authors the credit they deserve.
- You show that you did not make up the information, but that you use reliable sources.
- You show the connection between your own work and that of others.
- You make your work verifiable: others can check the cited literature to see if you have understood and presented the information correctly.
- You point your readers to publications on the subject that may be of interest to them.

You do not need to include a source reference for a generally known fact. For example, if you write that the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, this is a generally known fact for which you do not need to provide a source reference.