Formatting and style are both incredibly important when writing in any professional setting. Without them, your credibility and the legitimacy of what you're saying can come into question. It's important to give people credit when using their information and knowledge and it's a huge problem if you try to pass this up as your own. Citing things properly is detrimental when writing anything in a professional setting.

When writing pieces that require facts and knowledge that I do not possess, I will quote them if I am using more than 3 or 4 of the same words that the original author uses. It is good to use precaution and cite anything that you think may or may not need it. It's always better to be safe than to plagiarize. It's a serious offense to be accused of plagary so make sure to include all of your references and citations.

Have you found similar tips helpful with your own experiences? How have your experiences differed from the above discussion?