Before using generative AI tools in your classes, review the syllabus for the instructor’s AI policy or consult your instructor directly.
Refer to your syllabus or ask your instructor for guidelines on using AI-generated content in your assignments. If allowed, always cite the AI tool when paraphrasing, quoting, or including any content (text, images, data, etc.) it produces.
Why Cite?
One of the most important reasons to cite your sources is to avoid plagiarism, which is a violation of the Foothill College Academic Integrity Policy. Citing your sources is a standard academic practice that helps your reader find the resources you used to write your paper. You might think of it as leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for your reader to follow through your research process. It provides evidence to support your work and increases your credibility.
When to Cite?
Whenever you copy a paragraph, a sentence, or a phrase from an article, book, website, etc., you must put quotation marks around it and cite it, i.e., state where the quote came from. Even if you paraphrase information you have read, it is necessary to give credit to the author by citing where you found the information. There is an exception: You are not required to cite "common knowledge," facts that many people know or can easily find out; for example, the Earth orbits the sun. However, it is not always clear what is considered common knowledge. Does everyone in your class know that Walt Whitman was an American poet? If you're not sure whether something is common knowledge, it's best to be on the safe side and cite it.
Need help with citations? NoodleTools is an easy-to-use online citation tool available to the Foothill community! Whether you're working with MLA, APA, or Chicago style, NoodleTools helps you create, save, and export citations and reference lists hassle-free.
Want to learn how to cite sources from ChatGPT and other Generative AI tools? Watch the tutorial below and make your citations effortless!