What kind of information is considered common knowledge?

(Refer to When do you need to reference?)

Question

What kind of information is considered common knowledge?

(Refer to When do you need to reference?)

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Common knowledge refers to facts widely known by the general public that do not require citation — for example, “The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840.”

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Common knowledge: information that is widely known and can be found in numerous sources (no single source attributable).
- Referencing requirement: you must cite when using someone’s unique ideas, specific data, direct quotes, or non-obvious facts.
- Context dependence: what counts as common knowledge can depend on your audience and discipline.

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- Establish criteria: a statement is common knowledge if most reasonable readers in your audience would know it or could easily verify it in many standard references.
- Apply criteria to the example: the Treaty of Waitangi’s signing date (1840) is a basic historical fact widely taught and found across encyclopedias and history texts.
- Therefore it meets the “widely known / easily verifiable” test and typically does not need a citation in general writing.

3. Intermediate steps (verification logic)
- Is the fact widely available in multiple general sources? Yes — history books, encyclopedias, educational websites all state 1840.
- Is the statement a unique interpretation, statistic, or unpublished claim? No — it’s a straightforward factual date.
- Conclusion from checks: no reference required.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- The statement given in the answer matches the definition: it is information most people know and is used as a canonical example of common knowledge that does not require referencing. The Treaty of Waitangi date is simple, well-established, and not attributable to a single author.

5. Why other options (hypothetical) would be incorrect
- Specialized facts (e.g., an obscure archival discovery), novel arguments, or specific data/statistics would require citations because they are not widely known and are attributable to particular sources.
- Direct quotations or paraphrases of another author’s argument also require referencing.

6. Conclusion confirming the final answer
- The correct answer is: Information that most people know e.g. “The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840.” This matches the definition and guidance about when referencing is not needed.

What kind of information is considered common knowledge? (Refer to When do you need to reference?)单项选择题

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