Question

Which element does NOT have to be cited in an academic paper?

Answer 1

b. A generally accepted fact

When including information within your paper that is not your original thought, you will need to give credit (cite) where credit is due.  For instance, you would need to cite a paraphrase from an interview, another person’s thoughts/opinions, and a diagram from a journal.  One thing, however, that you would not need to cite is a generally accepted fact, and this is called “common knowledge.” For instance, even if you did not know that Christopher Columbus came to the Americas in 1492, because this fact is so well known by most people, and is information you could find in almost any book about Christopher Columbus, it would not need to be cited, and, again, this is called “common knowledge.”  

Answer 2

A generally accepted fact does not have to be cited in an academic paper, whereas a paraphrase, another person's opinion, and a diagram have to be cited.