Dear Write Site is a series that equips Athabasca University (AU) students with tips and resources to improve their writing—whether it's for an essay, research paper, or the next great novel. We feature advice from the Write Site, AU's academic writing support services, with answers to learner questions.
Dear Write Site,
I’m doing a presentation, and I want to include photos and clip art to make it engaging. While finding images is easy, I can't ever seem to find who made them. Is it okay for me to leave them uncited in my presentation?
—Cite for Sore Eyes
Dear Cite for Sore Eyes,
This is a great question! Once you’ve found an image you want to use in an assignment, there are two main things to check:
- The image’s licence—a licence indicates how the copyright holder wants the image to be used and cited. It also determines whether you can legally use an image and in what way.
- Your citation style (for example, APA, Chicago, or MLA)—each style guide may have its own requirements for how to properly cite images.
Choosing an image with a licence that allows for free use can make properly citing it easier. Visit our to and more information about finding images.
Checking licences
Copyright ©
Any original work automatically has copyright protection in Canada, whether or not it shows a copyright symbol. There are special exceptions that may allow you to use a copyrighted image. “Fair dealing” allows the copyrighted image to be used in certain ways for specific purposes. explains: “Canadians enjoy fair dealing protections as a right for research, private study, education, parody, satire, criticism, review, and news reporting.”
For the purposes of schoolwork that won’t be published, usage probably falls under education and would be protected by fair dealing. The can be used by educators to help make the decision.
Creative Commons
Some authors opt to apply a licence, which has fewer restrictions.
Licence restrictions
Examples of licence restrictions include:
- Attribution to the author,
- Payment or subscription to use the image,
- Use only allowed in a specific app or program, like Microsoft 365,
- Type of use, such as personal or commercial, and
- Whether the image can be modified.
Public domain
One of the most interesting licences is not really a licence—it’s called CC0, and it means that the work has no restrictions and can be used without attribution to the original creator. Check the licence details at the you’re using, and you may find that many of the images are in the public domain.
Citing images
Below are the basic requirements for citing images in popular styles. Visit our for examples from , , and .
Typically, you will place the citation in a caption under the image, and place a reference, bibliography entry, or works cited entry at the end of the document.
| Symbol | Meaning | APA | Chicago | MLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| © | Copyrighted | Give credit | ||
| CC BY | Creative Commons: Attribution required | |||
| CC0 | In the public domain | Give credit |
For general purposes, you can use the TASL method: title, author, source, licence. Be sure to hyperlink the source and licence. If you get stuck, you can use this to give you a basic citation that doesn’t follow a particular style.
Final words
When looking for images to use in your coursework, you may first want to try free stock image sites. No matter which site you use, read the licence information to understand any legal requirements. Finally, check your style guide requirements to ensure you accurately cite the image.
The is a great resource to contact with copyright-related questions. And, if you need more support finding and citing images, the Write Site is also here to help! Email your questions to writesite@athabascau.ca.
Sincerely,
Sarah-Jean Watt, Write Site coordinator
Dan Cockcroft, OER librarian