Plagiarism is using the words of another person and claiming that they are your own. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional copying, and both types can come with consequences that can result in failing a class or academic probation, depending on the circumstance and the type of plagiarism. How can you avoid plagiarism?
1. Use multiple sources. When you read only one source, it's easy to get the words from the article, book, etc. stuck in your head, and this can result in accidental plagiarism as you write words in your essay that you mistakenly think are your own. Multiple sources are helpful because they provide a variety of different wordings and keep your brain from latching onto certain phrases.
2. Write your paper the day after you read your sources to avoid unintentional plagiarism.
3. Use your own words. Changing out the original author's words with synonyms, shifting parts of the sentence around, and rewriting what the author said is not creating your own work. It is plagiarism.
4. Cite your sources. Including the entirety of someone else's words without listing their name, the date the piece was written, and the name of the piece is plagiarism because the author does not receive full credit for their work. Including only quotations without author name, date, and the name of the piece is never okay. Please view the MLA, APA, and Chicago Style guides for information on how to properly cite sources.
5. If you are unsure if your words are your own idea or someone else's, include a citation. It's always better to be safe than sorry. You can also ask your instructor for further clarification.
6. Never resubmit old work that you turned in for a previous class. This is considered self-plagiarism.
7. Purchasing a paper off the internet or copying a free one is plagiarism. Copying sentences from various sources to piece together in your paper is also plagiarism.
8. Citing some - but not all - of your sources is plagiarism.
9. If something is common knowledge (or you knew it before you started researching), it does not need to be cited. Anything that is not common knowledge must be cited.
