Warning: Proceed With Caution!
How Do I Avoid Plagiarism?

Definition | Examples | Avoiding Plagiarism | Common Knowledge | Consequences | Resources | Final Note 

Definition of Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is theft of intellectual property.

Examples:

• Using information from any source (print, electronic, video, interview, etc.) without giving credit

• Using a graphic, photograph, chart, map, sound file, and so on, without giving credit

• Using someone else's work and claiming it as your own

• Cheating on a test

Visit Turnitin.com for more information and examples of plagiarism. 

Avoiding Plagiarism:

Writers sometimes plagiarize ideas from outside sources without realizing it. There are two ways to protect yourself from such inadvertent plagiarism:

1. Note-taking

2. Documentation of sources 

1. Most of the notes that you take will be in paraphrase form. This means that you will need to read a section of your source and then think about it. If you do not understand a source - don't use it! Next, write down the basic meaning of what you have read, using your own words. To do this, you must change both the vocabulary and the grammatical structure of the original sentences. The result must look completely different from the source, while meaning the same thing.

If you do not adequately paraphrase and neglect to use quotation marks, you will be plagiarizing.

If you copy words exactly as they are written in the source, put quotation marks around them in your notes immediately. Do not expect to remember that you need to paraphrase later.

For more information on note-taking, see Creating Note Cards in this manual.

2. No matter what kind of notes you take - paraphrase, summary, or direct quote - you will need to give credit to the source in the body of your work and in a Works Cited list. If a reader cannot determine the source of any researched information in your paper by using a parenthetical reference that matches a complete and accurate citation in your Works Cited, then you have plagiarized.

For more information on in-text citations, see Formatting a Parenthetical Reference in this manual.

* Science Research requires different documentation.  Please visit the Documenting Science Resources page for details. 

Common Knowledge Exceptions:

                Consider the typical complaint: “When I started this research, I didn't know anything about the topic.  Does that mean I must document every sentence in the paper?” No, not at all.  Personal notes and synthesis of outside sources are one’s own, along with the thesis, topic sentences, analyses, and surely most of the opening and concluding discussion. In addition, factual information of a general nature, called “common knowledge," reoccurs in source after source. 

For example, most sources on Franklin Pierce will report common knowledge: his birth and death, 1804-69, his role at age 48 as 14th President of the United States from 1853-57, and even his role as supporter of the Compromise of 1850 and his later criticism of Abraham Lincoln.  However, if one historian comments that Pierce’s handling of the slavery issue ruined his effectiveness as President, a citation to the source would be in order.

 Remember this general rule:  Information that occurs in five or more sources may be considered general knowledge.  

Another general rule: When in doubt, cite!

Consequences of Plagiarism

At the high school level: It is up to the teacher, but most often the student receives an ‘F’ for the plagiarized work and his/her Dean is notified.

At the college level: "Because it is intellectual theft, plagiarism is considered by all post-secondary institutions as an academic crime with punishment anywhere from an F on that particular paper to dismissal from the course to expulsion from the college or university." 

"Writing a Research Paper." Online Writing Lab (OWL). Perdue University. 1995-2004. 21 May 2004. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/plag.html>. 

Plagiarism can occur not only in formal research papers but in every day speaking, essays, music, graphics, video, or film.  Here are some actual examples of the serious consequences of plagiarism:

• A top Princeton student who had a 3.7 average was accused of plagiarism. Her professor underlined those portions of the paper that had been either copied verbatim or paraphrased without citation. The university withheld her diploma for a year and notified the law school that she had planned to attend about her plagiarism.
  

•  The University of Virginia concluded a two-year investigation into student plagiarism in October 2003.  As a result of the plagiarism trials, 48 students were dismissed from school and three graduate degrees were revoked.
  

•  A professor at the U.S. Naval Academy was demoted and given a $10,000  cut in pay for plagiarizing others' works in his book about atomic bombs.  
  

• A clergyman in Michigan was suspended when it was discovered that he had copied his sermons from an online subscription service.
  

• A noted mathematical physicist sued a major corporation for illegally taking a geometric pattern he discovered and using it on their toilet paper.

Resources: 

Avoiding Plagiarism. OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Perdue University
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid It
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml

For a list of additional resources, see Plagiarism Resources in this manual.

A Final Note:

Learning how to use the ideas of others to add weight to your own ideas involves effort and a commitment to academic honesty.  It is not always clear exactly when or how to use sources, and sometimes you will need advice.  Since your teachers are most familiar with the expectations of their disciplines, they are the best people to ask.  

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