Whether you are writing a short academic essay or a multi-page research paper, chances are you are going to look for information outside your own thoughts and opinions. Any time you use words or ideas that are not your own, you must tell the reader where those words or ideas came from. Otherwise, it is considered plagiarism. This includes ideas that you have put into your own words as well as words quoted directly from the source.
What Is Plagiarism?
The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron [Longman, 2009] defines plagiarism as “the presentation of someone else’s ideas or words as your own.” Sometimes plagiarism is obvious, such as when a student buys a paper off the Internet or cuts and pastes chunks of text from an outside source into his paper. Even if the student puts the information into his own words, it is considered plagiarism if he does not cite the source.
Sometimes incidents of plagiarism are not so easy to determine. Accidental plagiarism can occur when a student forgets to cite a source, either directly quoted or paraphrased, or if the student doesn’t know the information needs to be cited. Sometimes certain passages will closely resemble the original, but the student has reworded them. In these cases, it’s up to the instructor to decide whether the student intended to cheat or not.
Consequences of Plagiarism
Although most schools from elementary level to college have an academic honor code, schools vary widely in their consequences for plagiarism. The University of Virginia has expelled students for plagiarism. Consequences at other schools range from the student receiving a zero on the assignment to suspension from school.
Common Knowledge
Some information does not need to be cited. This is known as “common knowledge.” Common knowledge includes historical facts, folk literature, and information that is already known by a majority of people.
Common knowledge can be difficult to determine. The OWL at Purdue, a reputable online resource for students, says, “You can regard something as common knowledge if you find the same information undocumented in at least five credible sources.” A good rule of thumb is if you are in doubt, cite your source. It certainly can’t hurt.
How to Avoid Plagiarism
The easiest way to avoid plagiarism in your writing is to keep accurate notes during the research process. It may help to write your notes in different colors to distinguish between direct quotes and paraphrasing. Make sure you write all the source information clearly as you take notes so you don’t have to retrace your steps to document your sources later.
When you paraphrase, check the original source to make sure you have changed both the words and the sentence structure. Paraphrasing by just substituting a few words with synonyms is still plagiarism.
Cite any information that does not come from you own mind. If the idea belongs to someone else, it needs to be credited.
Following these simple steps can help guarantee the integrity of your writing and assure that your work is completely your own.
