What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's ideas or words without properly crediting the source. Take note that plagiarism is not only the act of thieving words or passages, but it is also the act of thieving ideas.

What is not Considered Plagiarism?

• Your ideas in your own words.
• Common facts that you have written in your own words. For example, "Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein shortly after the war of 1812."
• You give proper citations, quotations, and credit to the original source.

Examples of Plagiarism

Copying something word for word without using quotations or citations

• Be careful when using paraphrased text because you could also find yourself in trouble for libel if your punctuation makes it appear that something you are saying in your document is what the quoted person is saying.

For example, note the following passage:

In an interview with Dr. Moogleham, director of endocrinology at Mountain Smart University, he said smoking is not only dangerous because of the potential risk of cancer, but because it disrupts the metabolic system. Smoking has a large effect on aerobic respiration. Smoking is not only a health risk, but it is morally unacceptable.

Notice that the previous passage could be interpreted to mean that Dr. Moogleham said that smoking is morally unacceptable. In the previous passage, it is unclear exactly what Dr. Moogleham is saying and what the author is saying. Was it the author's idea to say that "Smoking has a large effect on aerobic respiration?" So, not only is this author at risk for being sued for libel, but the author could be held accountable for plagiarizing an idea.

You must make sure to make adequate references to sources inside the document. Using quotation marks or parenthetical documentation will clarify the reader's understanding of whose idea or words are being spoken in the document. Simply citing the source at the end of the document is not acceptable.