Plagiarism 101

How can I avoid plagiarism?

You must do ALL of these:

  1. Rewrite all of the ideas in your own words, summarizing where possible;
  2. Cite the source of the information as soon as you've used it, not just at the end of the paragraph, page or paper;
  3. Include a list of all sources used.

Acknowledge

  • Directly quoted information
  • Paraphrased information
  • Statistics
  • Graphics, Maps, Photos

Do Not Acknowledge

  • Dates (e.g., World War II began in 1939)
  • Simple definitions (e.g., diabetes)
  • Commonly known observations and facts (e.g., Ottawa is the capital of Canada)

Hints

  • Take careful notes throughout the research process.
  • Respond to the notes with your own thoughts and ideas.
  • Accurately record quotations, paraphrased information, and page numbers.
  • Put quotation marks around short quotations and indent lengthy quotations.
  • Use parenthetical citations where needed.
  • Give yourself enough time to complete the research project.

Here are a couple of good sites on plagiarism.

 

Next > Examples of Plagiarism and Consequences of Plagiarism

Last updated: April 4, 2008