Common Knowledge 101: What You Need to Know to Pass
In most academic circles, common knowledge does not need to be cited in a research paper. This can be a great time-saver since it’s one less APA, MLA format, or Chicago style citation you need to create. But first, you need know the answer to this big question: What is common knowledge? Since plagiarism is considered a serious offense both inside and outside of school, being sure about what common knowledge is can save you from a lot of unnecessary trouble and stress.
What is common knowledge
In general, common knowledge is something known or understood, by reasonably educated people without the need to confirm it through research. Common knowledge is a fact that cannot be argued. It’s usually something you know off the top of your head.
Common Knowledge Examples:
- We live on the earth.
- Paris is the capital of France.
- There are 365 days in a year.
- In grammar, a “book” is a noun.
- Bananas are yellow when ripe.
Not so common, common knowledge
At first common knowledge is a straightforward concept, but it’s a little more challenging when you start to realize that what is considered common knowledge changes based on who we are talking to. Here are a few factors that can have an effect on what is considered common knowledge.
Nationality
In the United States, it’s common knowledge that the national bird is the bald eagle. If you were talking to a group of Australians about the fact above, it probably wouldn’t be considered common knowledge.
Academic field
When addressing a group of veterinarians, the fact that a cow has four stomachs is common knowledge. That same information presented to accountants is not common knowledge.
Cultural group
We can reasonably assume that a member of the Islamic faith would know the five pillars of Islam, but when writing a college paper for an Introduction to World Religions class, this information is best cited. Keep in mind, if the five pillars are presented to a group of religious Ph.D. candidates, a citation is not needed because these are well-known facts in this academic field.
As you can see, what is common knowledge in one group is not common in another. To help you protect yourself from plagiarism, we have designed a little test.
The common knowledge test
To figure out, if the information you are presenting is common knowledge. Visualize the audience you are writing for and ask yourself these questions:
- Do ninety percent of these people know this information already?
- Is there any reason for a member of my audience to question the validity or source of my information?
If the answer to question number one is “yes,” and question two is “no,” you do not need to include a citation.
What if I’m not sure about the answers to those questions?
If you are not sure, take the safe route and cite the information. You will not be faulted for taking the precaution. Proper citing can be time-consuming. Because of this, it is very tempting to label everything common knowledge. What feels like a nice shortcut in the middle of a big paper could lead you to a huge hassle down the line.
Now that you know how to identify common knowledge like a pro, you can use proper citation when you need to and feel confident leaving it out when you don’t.
Strengthen your writing skills with a solid understanding of grammar. A good place to start? The BibMe Plus grammar guides! Learn what is a determiner, how to identify a prepositional phrase, rules around subject-verb agreement, and other helpful topics.
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Not So Crazy Reasons To Change Majors
Things were different when you first started college. You carefully picked a major that would lead you to the career you’ve always dreamed of—or maybe you picked a more neutral major to give yourself time to explore. But that was then, and this is now. You’ve learned a lot, gained new experiences, and are no longer so sure you want to stick with that original choice. It’s easy to get locked into the idea that the major you first chose is what you have to stick with forever, but that’s definitely not the case! Changing majors is actually not as big a deal as you think. Here are four common reasons students change majors.
Change up the way you write and cite with the BibMe Plus grammar and plagiarism tool! Spot writing errors like a misspelled adjective, an incorrect subject-verb agreement, an uncapitalized proper noun, and more!
Your passion has waned or changed
Think back to when you were a kid—what did you want to be when you grew up? If that job is still your goal, then you’re in the minority; most people change their minds several times as they learn and grow. That doesn’t stop just because you’ve started college. In fact, all those required courses and elective requirements might be the very thing that makes you realize that your planned career path isn’t your passion anymore. This might show up in a couple of different ways. It might start with you just not enjoying the field you used to love, feeling like your interest has faded. Or perhaps you took an elective course and discovered a new interest. The key is making sure that it’s not just one bad (or great) class that’s caused this shift in perspective. Take some time to be honest with yourself or even visit a career advisor to make sure this decision isn’t made impulsively.The career prospects in your field don’t interest you
If the realities of professional life in your field of study don’t appeal to you, that’s a perfectly fine reason to step away! Lots of people have hobbies or interests that they love but would never want to do for a living, and that might be what your first major turns into. If you do change your major for this reason, make sure that whatever you switch to has career options that you can see yourself taking.You realized your awesome skill set is a better match elsewhere
The idea of a job and the realities of it are sometimes very different things. Maybe you got into your major because you love the theoretical side of it, but in the course of your studies, you’ve realized that the field requires a ton of heavy-duty statistical analysis, which really isn’t up your alley. Don’t feel bad—that’s what college is for! It gives you a glimpse of a field before you commit to it 100 percent. If you love the field you’re in and it’s just one or two skills that are holding you back, you might want to weigh your options and see if those skills are really deal-breakers or not for you. If it’s the meat and bones of the job that turns out to be a mismatch, though, there’s nothing wrong with finding something that suits you better. It’s not a failure to understand your own strengths and try to tailor your professional life to them—and it’s much better to do it now than ten years into a career!The financial prospects concern you
We don’t like to talk about it, but it’s a fact: at some point, you’re going to have to be concerned about your pay. Part of college is learning what real life in your field will look like down the line and what kind of professional life you can expect. This doesn’t mean you should change your major to the highest-paying job you can find, but rather that you might want to decide how much you’re okay with getting paid and if the job is worth the typical salary range. Alternatively, you may want to explore specific niches in your major: it’s okay to gravitate towards a specialty that pays well—that doesn’t make you greedy! The Occupational Outlook Handbook is good place to start looking at median pay rates. Some things to keep in mind: if you’re just changing your major to make more money in the future, that’s not a great idea—the economy is always changing, and you don’t want to be burnt-out in a job you don’t like and find out that it’s not even paying what you hoped. Be realistic, ask current professionals how they do it, and learn how to balance your finances with your passion.One change you may want to make? Going from manually creating citations to generating them on BibMe.org! BibMe citing tools make it easy to build an APA title page, an MLA works cited, a Chicago style citation, and other bibliographic notations. ...
5 Reasons to Use Your College Library
Whether you're looking for a quiet space to study, seeking a desk to finish your paper’s MLA or APA citation bibliography, or need to borrow books and research materials, your college library can help! Here are our top five reasons to dig out that library pass!
1. Solo study
Studying from home comes with numerous distractions, whether it’s noise from siblings or your housemates encouraging “study breaks” at Starbucks or Subway. The college library is a place you can go to study pretty much distraction-free. Find a quiet corner and turn off your phone (or set it to block non-urgent messages) to create a completely distraction-free zone.
2. Social study
On the flipside, the library is a great place to meet with a study group or for a project group. You'll have access to all the reference materials you're likely to need, plus space to sit together that you might not have at home or in your dorm room. Larger tables should be located away from the single booths, to enable groups to work together without disturbing solo students. Some college libraries also have meeting rooms you can sign up to use.
3. The personal touch
The college librarians are an often-underused resource that can be super helpful in the course of your studies. A good librarian will be able to point you to the right resource — whether that's a book, an academic journal or magazine, or an article or piece of research in the online database.
You may also find that your tutor has put together a list of reading and reference materials that are available in your college library — and maybe even placed them on reserve for students — making it easy to find exactly what you need.
4. Online databases
A good online database allows students access to more research material than a college library could ever hold! Although many colleges offer remote access to their databases, logging on at the library will help you to stay focused on the task at hand — and ensure that you have easy access to any physical books and journals that you might need to cross-reference or further your findings.
5. Learning skills sessions
Many college libraries offer a range of free learning skills sessions, which can cover everything from computer skills to brainstorming research paper topics to properly writing and formatting your papers.
College libraries are an incredible resource full of learning and research materials, so make sure that you use yours to its full advantage.
If you're looking for convenient online help with grammar, citing, or plagiarism, BibMe Plus could help! There are tools to help you generate citations and guides that teach you a pronoun definition, how to write an annotated bibliography, what is a determiner, and other writing topics.
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4 Resolutions to Try if You Want to Be a Better Writer
It’s the new year! You know what that means: time to make resolutions! Whether you want to get better grades or exercise more, it’s always great to start the new year with positive intentions and resolutions that are attainable.
If one of your goals is to be a better writer, there are many small ways to do so—and not all of them involve writing practice! Here are four resolutions to consider:
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Goal: Tackle writer’s block / Resolution: Write first thing in the morning!
Do you ever find yourself staring at your computer screen when you have a paper that’s due the next day? Do you hope that the words will magically come to you, yet your mind remains blank? One of the reasons why you might get writer’s block is that you’re scared what you’ll write will be terrible. Don’t judge your writing before you even start!
One resolution that could help you tackle writer’s block is to begin writing just for writing’s sake. Write without judgment. Once you get into this habit, you’ll find that writing essays will be much easier.
So how do you write for writing’s sake? Get a pen and a notebook. Resolve to write first thing in the morning every day for just five minutes. Every morning when you wake up, open your notebook and write whatever thoughts come to your mind for five straight minutes. Whether you write, “I can’t wait to eat breakfast,” or “Wow, that was a weird dream,” it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re doing the act of writing. Don’t worry about crossing out errors or making sure your writing is logical or even correct. Just scribble down whatever sentences pop into you head.
By doing this, you’ll get comfortable with writing first and editing later. You’ll get used to jotting down words without judgment. The hardest part of writing is getting started, so give yourself permission to just start!
Goal: Improve your vocabulary / Resolution: Learn one new word per day!
Do you find yourself constantly looking up synonyms because you don’t want to repeat yourself? Do you wish you had more varied word choice in your writing?
This resolution is straightforward: resolve to learn one new vocabulary word per day! You might be wondering, “But how do I find new words?” A simple and fun way to do this is to jot down new words you encounter in your daily life. Whether they’re from blog posts or academic journal articles, make a running list of these vocabulary words. For example, let’s say you’re reading an article for class, and you discover seven new words. That’s great! Add them to your list. Seven words is the equivalent to a week’s worth of vocabulary.
When you start this resolution, don’t feel pressured to find a brand new word every day. Spend the first two weeks of the new year creating your vocabulary list. That way, when you start to learn a new word per day, you already have a few to learn!
Also, there are many online websites that have a “word of the day.” If you’re struggling to find words, simply find and bookmark one of these pages and you’ll be set!
Goal: Change up your syntax / Resolution: Read with intention!
Do you think your writing could use more interesting sentence structures? Do you want to add more pizzazz to your writing?
Changing up your syntax while you write is an easy way to spice up your writing. It can, however, feel odd to write a paragraph and then ask yourself, “How do I change the structure?”
One resolution that could naturally improve your syntax is to read with intention while reading other people’s writing. Reading with intention means not only comprehending the content, but also reflecting on how the author is communicating his or her ideas. What makes the writing engaging? What could be improved about it? What is the tone and how did they communicate it? Are the sentences long or short? Did you notice any patterns?
If you specifically read while keeping an eye out for syntax, you can start to see how different sentence structures impact your impression of the content. Make a mental note of what you want to try in your own writing, and then try it!
Goal: Vary your writing style / Resolution: Read different types of articles
Do you want to explore various styles of writing (e.g., writing a casual blog post vs. writing a news article)? Do you want to see how you can address different audiences?
A simple resolution you can adopt to learn how to vary your writing style is to expose yourself to different types of articles. Start by choosing three different types of writing styles. For example, a lifestyle blog, a news source, and an academic journal article. Resolve to read one article from each type of writing style once a week. You can designate Monday as the day you read your favorite blog, Wednesday as the day you read from a news source, and Friday as the day you read from an academic journal. Similar to reading with intention, notice what works for each style and adopt what you like based on what you’re writing!
Bonus Resolution: Start a journal or a blog!
At the end of the day, you become a better writer by writing. Keeping a private journal or blog is an easy way to improve your writing. Plus, it’s fun to reflect back on your memories!
One other writing resolution to make: Cite your source properly. Citation Machine can help! Generate an APA citation, create a reference list using MLA formatting, and learn from an annotated bibliography example.
6 Books You Can Read and Compare to Their Movie Adaptations
When a story that starts in print shows up on screen, someone inevitably declares, “The book was better.” If you want to join the discussion, or just need extra inspiration to read something non-school related that’s longer than the text in an Instagram story, here are six film adaptations you can compare with the books that inspired them. Need to cite a book or a video? BibMe.org makes it easy! It's an APA reference generator, MLA formatter, and Chicago citation generator all rolled into one tool!
The Outsiders (1983)
The Outsiders, written by teenager S.E. Hinton and originally published in 1967, shows that gangs and gun violence are nothing new in American society. It tells the story of two teen gangs in Tusla, the Greasers and the Socs, in a perpetual battle over class and social status that results in tragic consequences for both groups. The film adaptation directed by Francis Ford Coppola featured actors including Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Rob Lowe back when the middle-aged movie stars were hotties in their teens and twenties.The Princess Bride (1987)
This film didn’t bring in the bucks at the box office, but has reached profitability -- and cult classic status -- since. Even if you’ve never seen the movie, it’s “inconceivable” that you aren’t familiar with at least a few famous lines from the script, written by the book’s author, William Goldman. Like that fractured fairy tale, the movie tells the story of Westley who, with the help of a Spanish swordsman and a giant from Greenland, rescues his true love Buttercup from the clutches of the evil Prince Humperdinck. If you watch, or rewatch, the film, you may recognize Buttercup (Robin Wright) as General Antiope from Wonder Woman. Bonus: the movie’s male lead, Carey Elwes, is set to join the cast of Stranger Things in its third season.The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Most critics loved both the print and movie version of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, possibly because the film was directed by the best-selling book’s author, Stephen Chbosky. On the page and onscreen, the story unfolds through a series of letters from Charlie, the wallflower of the title, and an anonymous friend. Over the course of his freshman year in high school, Charlie begins to unfold as well thanks to the help of two half-siblings, Patrick and Sam (Emma Watson in her first post-Potter role), who bring them into their quirky friend group. There, he falls in love and finally begins to feel a little love for himself.The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
While The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is a coming-of-age love story, cancer is definitely a central character, especially considering that leads Hazel Graze and Augustus (Divergent stars Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort) meet at a cancer support group. Gus immediately turns on the charm, even though Hazel Grace is reluctant to embrace love and life due to her medical condition. But Gus turns a Make-A-Wish Foundation-type trip into a pilgrimage to Amsterdam with Hazel Grace to find her favorite author, eventually convincing her that life is worth living for however long it might last. A tear-jerker whether you read it or watch it.Ready Player One (2018)
By 2045, the real world has become pretty unbearable, which is why most humans spend their time in the OASIS, a virtual universe populated by pop culture references from the 1980s. But control of the OASIS, and its deceased founder’s fortune, is up for grabs to anyone who can find an Easter egg he’s hidden somewhere in the world he created. Will well-funded egg hunters from Innovative Online Industries discover it and turn the OASIS into a money machine full of ads or will Wade Watts and his band of rebels find it first, keeping the virtual world a escapist oasis for everyone? The movie version of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was directed by Steven Spielberg and is due out on DVD in late July.The Hate U Give (2018)
This best-seller by Angie Thomas is a novel, but its serious subject matter comes straight from the nightly news. Starr Carter is the sole witness when her unarmed childhood best friend is fatally shot by a cop. That turning point breaks down barriers she’s built between her weekday world, an upscale private school, and the poverty-plagued neighborhood she calls home. The movie version of The Hate U Give is scheduled for release in October and stars Amandla Stenberg, who also landed the leading role in The Darkest Minds, another book-to-movie adaptation. And, if you can’t wait to start binge-watching stories that started in print, here are five more book-to-screen selections available on Netflix right now:* *Subject to change. Please check Netflix for current movies available.- Coraline
- How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
- The Kissing Booth
- Anne With an E (Anne of Green Gables)
- The Lovely Bones
Writing a paper? Try the BibMe grammar and plagiarism tool to make sure your writing is correctly cited and avoids unintentional plagiarism! Need grammar help? Begin with our grammar guides and learn a verb definition, examples of adverbs, what is a determiner, and more! ...
6 Tips for Writing Better Instagram Posts and Engaging Your Followers
By Devon Brown
Even though I take terrible photos, I was able to build an Instagram audience of over 6,000 followers who actually interact and comment on my posts, want to know how? Captions! For those of us who flunked photography, Instagram gives us 2,200 characters to redeem ourselves. Here are some tips to help you write captions that will engage your friends, build your audience, and make sure your posts get noticed.
Learn the basics first with these BibMe grammar guides on verbs, adjectives, nouns, conjunctions, and other parts of speech. If you’re still looking for extra help after that, try the BibMe Plus check for grammar and plagiarism.
Pyramid opening
Most people view Instagram on their phones, which means you should design a post made to scroll. One way to catch a reader’s eye is to start small, very small. A single word is almost impossible not to read, follow that with a few more words of interest and you’ve got them hooked.
Pyramid Opening Example:
It
was
all my fault.
Go Long
Many people who use Instagram keep their captions down to a few words, but if you want to build an audience that keeps coming back, go deeper. Tell a real story, why you took the photo and why you think others might like it.
The Real Deal
Social media is well known for its false depiction of real life. If you want to stand out in the crowd, in addition to going long, keep it honest. People know that life isn’t perfect. If you share your screw ups and hang-ups, with a sense of humor, people will connect to you and want to know more.
Use Emojis
This is not a term paper. A good Instagram caption is about interest, engagement and fun, which is basically the definition of an emoji. Emojis also allow your readers to imagine the words you would use. When people are able to put your thoughts in their own words, they will feel more connected to you.
Cliffhanger
Repeat readers are the best way to have an active and thriving account. A great way to get readers to come back is to tell a story with a cliffhanger because everyone wants to know what happens next.
Cliffhanger Example:
Everything was perfect until I told him the truth about my…
TO BE CONTINUED
Questions
A great measure of a successful Instagram post is the number of comments it receives. If you want to get a lot of comments on your post, invite people to take part by asking a question. Make sure it’s a question that is easy to answer. The best questions allow people to share their opinions without too large of an emotional investment.
Example:
Good Question: Would you tell a truth that could ruin your relationship?
Bad Question: What truth have you told that ruined a relationship?
Note: Once you have built a strong community, you can and should ask more difficult questions, but keep in mind only a few brave souls will answer.
Instagram may be a photo-sharing app, but building community is at its core. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but an extra 2,200 characters keeps people connected.
Looking for an APA citation generator? Maybe you need help creating an MLA citation? Or perhaps you’d like to review an example of an annotated bibliography. BibMe has all of the above and more! Check it out today!
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