What isn't Plagiarism?

What isn't plagiarism? Common knowledge does not need to be cited. (Citing means giving basic information about the original source you used—enough that someone else could track it down.) Common knowledge includes facts that are known by a lot of people and can be found in many sources. For example, you do not need to cite the following:
  • In 1865, following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was elected as the 17th President of the United States.
  • William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and he died in 1616.
  • A genome is all the DNA in an organism, including its genes.
Newton

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