Plagiarism

Plagiarism=

the unacknowledged use of somebody else’s words

or ideas

Actions that might be seen as plagiarism:

• buying, stealing, or borrowing a paper
• using the source too closely when paraphrasing
• building on someone’s ideas without citation
• hiring someone to write your paper
• copying from another source without citing

**  Since teachers may not distinguish between deliberate and accidental plagiarism, the heart of avoiding plagiarism is to make sure you give credit where it is due. **

Choosing When to Give Credit

You need to document when:

• you are using or referring to somebody else’s words or ideas from a magazine, book, newspaper, song, web page, etc.
• you use information gained from an interview.
• you copy the exact words or a “unique phrase.”
• you reprint diagrams, illustration, charts, etc.

You do not need to document when:

• you are writing your own experiences, observations, thoughts, or conclusions about a subject.
• you are using common knowledge, common sense, or shared information.
• you are compiling generally accepted facts.
• you are writing up your own experimental results.

Making Sure You Are Safe

When researching, note-taking, and interviewing:

• mark everything that is someone else’s words with quotation marks or a big Q.
• label which notes are taken from sources (S) and which are your own (M).
• record all relevant documentation in your notes (name, publisher, date, page numbers, etc.).

When paraphrasing and summarizing:

• write your paraphrase and summary without looking at the    original text, so you rely only on your memory.
• check your version with the original for content, accuracy, and mistakenly borrowed phrases.

Deciding if something is “common knowledge”

Material is probably common knowledge if . . .

• you find the same information undocumented in at least five other sources.
• you think it is information that your readers will already know.
• you think a person could easily find the information with general reference sources.