Avoiding Plagiarism giving credit where credit is due

Plagiarism Whenever you try to pass off someone else's work as your own, you are committing an act of plagiarism. Music, graphics, photography, text and ideas can all be plagiarized. Plagiarized work can be taken from print and electronic materials.

Copying word for word If you buy a paper, copy and paste sections of text from a web site, or if you use phrases from a book, these are all examples of copying text word for word. You are using someone else's words as your own.

Example: WRONG: Cheese has an interesting and rich history. Cheese began as a simple way of concentrating and preserving the bounty of the milking season. RIGHT: Cheese has an interesting and rich history. As Harold McGee writes, "Cheese began as a simple way of concentrating and preserving the bounty of the milking season." (McGee, 2004)

Paraphrasing Changing a passage of text only slightly and calling it your own is also considered plagiarism. In this case, the text is altered a little bit, usually with synonyms. Either directly quote the text or present it in you own words.

Example: WRONG: Cheese started as an easy way of concentrating and enjoying the bounty of the milking season. RIGHT: As Harold McGee writes, "Cheese began as a simple way of concentrating and preserving the bounty of the milking season." (McGee, 2004) RIGHT: It was discovered that when converted into cheese, milk can be enjoyed for longer periods. (McGee, 2004)

Reordering Rearranging text into a new order is still considered plagiarism, whether you are rearranging paragraphs, sections, or phrases.

Example: WRONG: In the beginning, the bounty of the milking season was concentrated and preserved simply through cheese. RIGHT: As Harold McGee writes, "Cheese began as a simple way of concentrating and preserving the bounty of the milking season." (McGee, 2004) RIGHT: It was discovered that when converted into cheese, milk can be enjoyed for longer periods. (McGee, 2004)

Not Attributing When in doubt, cite your sources. Even if you rephrase the text, the source still needs to be given.

Example: WRONG: It was discovered that when converted into cheese, milk can be enjoyed for longer periods. RIGHT: It was discovered that when converted into cheese, milk can be enjoyed for longer periods. (McGee, 2004)

Citing Sources Citing sources just means giving credit to the original author. It allows someone reviewing your work to retrace your steps, it provides readers with avenues for further reading, and (most importantly) it gives credit where credit is due.

Citations A source citation usually includes: Author Title Year Produced Publisher Name and Location URL Pages (if applicable) Use one of the citation systems like MLA, APA, or Chicago Style to format your citations

Citing other types of sources Citing sources is required for all types of formats, from films to graphics to charts. Citation style books provide methods for citing a wide variety of formats. Just remember: Always give credit!

Check our web site… More information on Plagiarism and Citations Links to further reading More information on the different Citation styles!