7.2 Citations and Academic Integrity
Key Takeaways
- Cite sources for statistics, unique facts, others' ideas or theories, and any direct quotations; common knowledge and pure personal observation usually do not need a citation.
- Plagiarism includes copying without credit and patchwriting (lightly rewording a source while keeping its structure and distinctive phrasing).
- Nursing and allied-health programs enforce academic integrity policies because honesty predicts professional trustworthiness in documentation and research use.
- TEAS items often ask which situation requires a citation; choose the option that uses another person's words, data, or ideas without attribution.
- Quotation marks alone are not enough—pair quotes with a source credit; paraphrase still needs a citation when the idea is not yours.
Why citations appear on TEAS English
Within Using Language and Vocabulary to Express Ideas in Writing, TEAS may test basic academic integrity: knowing when a writer must give credit and what behavior counts as plagiarism. You will not format a full APA reference list under timed conditions. You will decide whether a sentence needs a citation and recognize dishonest reuse of sources.
For future nurses and allied-health professionals, the skill maps to real standards: accurate documentation, honest reporting of data, and ethical use of evidence in care plans and school papers. Programs treat plagiarism as a professional red flag, not a "gotcha" school rule.
When sources need citation
A citation is a brief credit that shows where information came from (author, organization, year, or other required elements depending on style). Use a citation when the content is not originally yours and is not common knowledge.
Situations that usually require a citation
| Content type | Why cite | TEAS-style example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct quotation | Words belong to someone else | Copying a sentence from a textbook into an essay |
| Statistics / numerical data | Numbers come from a study, agency, or report | "Hospital X reported a 12% fall rate in 2024" |
| Others' ideas, theories, or arguments | Intellectual credit | Summarizing a researcher's model of pain assessment |
| Unique facts not widely known | Reader could not be expected to know them without a source | A specific finding from one clinical trial |
| Paraphrases of a source's distinctive claims | Idea still originated elsewhere | Restating a journal article's conclusion in new words |
| Images, charts, or tables from elsewhere | Visual content is also protected intellectual work | Inserting a published graph into a paper |
Key point: Changing a few words does not remove the need to cite. If the idea, data, or structure comes from a source, credit the source.
Situations that usually do not require a citation
| Content type | Why no citation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Common knowledge | Widely known facts available in many general sources | Water freezes at 0°C; the heart has four chambers; hand hygiene reduces germ spread (general fact level) |
| Your own personal observation or experience | Original to you | "During my clinical day, the patient reported pain of 6/10 after ambulation." |
| Your own analysis or conclusion | Original reasoning (after any borrowed facts are cited) | "Based on these observations, more frequent pain reassessment seems warranted." |
| Your own original data you collected | You are the source (school rules may still require method notes) | Results from a survey you designed and ran |
Gray areas TEAS loves
- Is it common knowledge? If a careful reader would ask "According to whom?"—cite. If most educated adults would accept the fact without a source, it is often common knowledge.
- Specific numbers almost always need sources. "Many patients fall" might be general; "falls declined 18% after hourly rounding in one unit study" needs a citation.
- Class notes and instructors: Ideas from lectures still originate with someone else; academic programs often expect you to credit the source material behind the lecture when used in formal papers.
- Patient quotations in school papers: Protect privacy (no real identifiers). You are not "plagiarizing" a patient's spoken words in a reflection the way you plagiarize a journal, but you still must be truthful and confidential. TEAS focus remains academic source use.
Decision flowchart (mental model)
- Are these my original words and ideas only? → No citation needed.
- Is this common knowledge? → No citation needed.
- Is this a quote, number, unique fact, or someone else's idea? → Cite.
- Did I only swap synonyms from a paragraph I read? → Still cite (and better: fully paraphrase or quote properly).
Plagiarism basics
Plagiarism is presenting another person's words, ideas, structure, or data as if they were your own. Intentional cheating and careless skipping of citations can both violate policy.
Common forms
| Form | What it looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Copying without credit | Pasting textbook or website text into a paper with no quote marks and no citation | Quote + cite, or fully paraphrase + cite |
| Missing quotation marks | Word-for-word text with a citation but no quote marks | Add quotation marks (or block quote format) for exact language |
| Citation without true paraphrase | Source listed, but sentences still mirror the original too closely | Rewrite in your own structure and words, keep citation |
| Patchwriting | Keeping the source's sentence skeleton and swapping a few synonyms | Close the source; write from notes in your own voice; cite |
| Self-plagiarism (program-dependent) | Reusing your prior paper without permission/citation | Follow course rules; disclose reuse when required |
| Collusion presented as individual work | Submitting a classmate's writing as yours | Do your own work; follow collaboration rules |
Patchwriting (high-yield)
Patchwriting is a halfway "rewrite" that stays too close to the source. Example pattern:
- Source: "Early ambulation after surgery reduces the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications."
- Patchwriting: "Early walking after an operation lowers the chance of after-surgery lung problems."
The structure and distinctive claim remain. Even with synonym swaps, this is still dependent on the source and needs proper citation—and often a fuller paraphrase or a short quotation instead.
Stronger paraphrase (still cite the source of the claim if it is research-based): "Research and clinical guidelines commonly emphasize getting patients moving soon after surgery to help protect lung function."
Quotations vs. paraphrases
| Method | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Quotation | Exact words + quotation marks (or block format) + citation |
| Paraphrase | Substantially new wording and sentence structure + citation for the borrowed idea/data |
| Summary | Condensed version in your words + citation |
TEAS trap: Students think paraphrase = no citation. False. Paraphrase removes quotation marks, not the duty to credit the idea.
Why nursing programs care
Nursing and allied-health programs publish academic integrity policies for reasons that go beyond grades:
- Patient safety culture: Professionals must report data honestly. Faking sources or inventing readings is ethically adjacent to falsifying chart information.
- Evidence-based practice: Care decisions rely on trustworthy literature use. Misrepresenting a study teaches the wrong habit.
- Licensure and employment risk: Integrity violations can lead to course failure, program dismissal, or later professional consequences.
- Team trust: Colleagues and patients depend on truthful communication in handoffs, incident reports, and documentation.
So when TEAS asks about citations, it is also sampling the ethical reasoning programs expect from applicants.
Professional parallels (ethical mindset, not legal advice)
| School integrity issue | Professional parallel |
|---|---|
| Copying a source without credit | Copying another clinician's note without verification/attribution where required |
| Inventing a reference | Inventing assessment data |
| Patchwriting a study | Overstating what evidence supports |
| Submitting another's paper | Signing documentation for care you did not perform |
How TEAS frames "which situation requires a citation?"
Typical stems:
- Which sentence requires a citation?
- Which student action is plagiarism?
- Which example is common knowledge that does not need a source?
Choose citation when the option includes:
- A percentage, rate, or study result
- A named expert's theory or claim
- Quotation marks content from a published source (still needs the source credit)
- A unique historical or scientific detail unlikely to be general knowledge
Reject "needs citation" when the option is only:
- A widely known basic fact
- The writer's firsthand clinical observation clearly framed as personal experience
- The writer's original opinion clearly separated from source material
Practice discriminations
| Statement | Citation needed? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| "The adult human body has 206 bones." | Usually no | Common knowledge |
| "In one hospital quality report, unit falls dropped 22% after intentional hourly rounding." | Yes | Specific statistic from a report |
| "Nightingale promoted sanitation as essential to recovery." | Often yes in academic work | Historical/interpretive claim from scholarly tradition; many instructors expect a source for course papers |
| "I observed that the patient smiled after family arrived." | No | Personal observation |
| "According to a 2023 meta-analysis, X intervention reduced readmissions." | Yes | Research finding |
| Word-for-word sentence from a PDF with no marks/credit | Yes + quote format | Otherwise plagiarism |
Quick integrity checklist before you answer
- Whose words are these?
- Whose numbers are these?
- Whose idea is this?
- Would a reasonable reader treat this as common knowledge?
- If I only changed a few words, am I still patchwriting?
If words, numbers, or distinctive ideas are borrowed, the ethical and TEAS-correct move is to cite—and to quote or truly paraphrase appropriately.
Mastering this section protects exam points and builds habits you will need in every nursing syllabus integrity statement and every honest clinical record.
Which situation most clearly requires a citation in an academic nursing paper?
A student rewrites a journal paragraph by swapping synonyms but keeps the original sentence order and distinctive claims, then omits a citation. What problem is this?
Which statement is most accurate about quotations and paraphrases?
Why do nursing programs emphasize academic integrity policies connected to citation skills?