This document defines and discusses plagiarism. Plagiarism involves using another person's work without proper citation or acknowledgement and can take various forms such as copying a friend's paper, using someone else's words or ideas as your own, or copying text or images from online without attribution. The document explains that plagiarism is considered a serious academic offense that can result in penalties. It provides guidance on how to avoid plagiarism through practices such as citing sources, quoting and paraphrasing text appropriately, and keeping track of sources.

1. WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct which
involves using the published or unpublished work of
another person without full and clear acknowledgement.
“Glasses, read, learn, book, text” by Hans is licensed under CC0 1.0

2. Plagiarism includes:
 Copying your friend’s paper or buying a paper online
 Using someone else’s words or ideas as your own
 Copying and pasting text found on the internet into your
paper
 Freely using photos and images found online
 Using the same paper in more than one class
Simply put… Plagiarism is cheating!

3. WHY DOES IT MATTER?
• Academic research requires that
you credit the ideas, research, and
opinions of others.
– Would you want someone to
use your ideas or research
without giving you credit?
• Plagiarism is considered a serious
offense and actions can be taken
against you including:
– Grade adjustment or failure,
probation, suspension or
expulsion “Woman Reading a Book” by Petr Kratochvil is licensed under CC0 1.0

4. HOW CAN YOU AVOID
PLAGIARISM?
• Quite simply - cite your sources!
 Document where you got your information from using
in-text citations and a bibliography.
• Quote, paraphrase and summarize!
 Quote - use exact text, verbatim, from the source.
 Paraphrase - provide a detailed restatement of a single
main idea using your own words.
 Summarize - include the main idea of a source using
your own words.

5. HOW CAN YOU AVOID
PLAGIARISM?
• Keep track of your sources from the start.
 Use a system to organize and label your sources. Either
print your sources out and keep them in a folder or save
PDF documents to a specific folder on your computer
or thumb drive. For open web sources, be sure to copy
the URL.
• Don’t cut and paste!
 It’s easy to confuse your own writing with the work of
someone else. Keep a draft with your writing and a
notes page with the quotes/paraphrasing/summarizing
your plan to incorporate into your paper separate.

6. WHY DO WE CITE OUR
SOURCES?
1. To give credit to the author
or work originator
2. To provide evidence to
support your research or
argument
3. So the reader can locate the
source you are citing
4. TO AVOID PLAGIARISM!!!!

7. YOU NEED TO CITE WHEN:
You quote somebody
You make a claim or statement that is
not common knowledge or could be
challenged
You paraphrase or summarize
information
You use someone else’s ideas
“
Hey, that’s
my idea!

8. YOU DO NOT NEED TO CITE WHEN:
Using familiar proverbs and
quotations
 For example: An apple a day keeps the doctor away
Using common knowledge or well
known facts
 For example: Water freezes at 32 degrees
Using original insight or observations
 Your original thoughts, opinions or observations do
not need to be cited – as long as it is really your own!

9. STILL UNSURE IF YOU NEED TO
CITE SOMETHING?
When in doubt, cite it out!
If you are ever uncertain about whether
you need to cite a source:
Ask your instructor
Ask a librarian
OR…

10. A NOTE ON QUOTES~
Try to quote only words,
phrases, lines or passages that
are actually interesting, unusual or
vivid and actually support what
you are writing.
Over-quotation can become
boring and lead readers to
believe that you lack original
thought or good writing skills!
Quotes should be used selectively!
“Interesting” by TRF_Mr_Hyde is licensed under CC BY 2.0