WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s words or ideas as one’s own.
Plagiarism is illegal; unethical; dishonest; punishable with severe penalties; and in
business, it may be the source of legal action.
It does not have to be identical to the original, but it must be so similar that it is obvious
that it has been copied.
“Legitimate borrowing takes place when a writer makes sparing use of some source
material by fitting it in carefully in the body of his or her essay, without altering it or
distorting it in a way that would upset the author” (Fit to Print).
PLAGIARISM includes, but is not limited to the following:
♦ presenting other people’s ideas as your own;
♦ to paraphrase the source’s language closely without using quotation marks to
indicated borrowed words or phrases;
♦ direct quotes without acknowledging the source (usually through an in-text
citation);
♦ presenting someone else’s ideas in your own words without acknowledgment (i.e.
no in-text citation);
♦ the use of someone else’s argument as the basis for your essay;
♦ copying from reference books or online sources (i.e. cutting and pasting from a
website or journal) and not citing it;
♦ paraphrasing so closely that it resembles the source;
♦ use of another student’s work;
♦ work acquired from commercial sources (i.e. paying someone to write an essay or
purchasing an assignment from a service);
♦ using work written for another assignment that was submitted to another teacher
for assessment for another class; and
♦ direct copying of another person’s re-write of an assignment as in the case of a
parent/guardian, tutor or ghostwriter;
♦ not including in-text citations in your work to acknowledge any idea that is not
yours;
♦ not including a properly formatted Works Cited page;
♦ not including a Works Cited page.
How do you prevent plagiarism?
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Follow all the steps in the process as assigned
Keep all your rough notes and work
Acknowledge all sources!
Give credit for quotations, ideas, and arguments
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Use in-text citations, footnotes, endnotes, and a Works Cited where necessary (i.e.
in English MLA Style is followed for citations and Works Cited)
Write summaries and paraphrase from memory (with the book closed) and then
check to see if you are accurate
Avoid ‘borrowing’ sentence structures and plugging in synonyms
Use quotation marks
When in doubt, always document the source!
If you have questions, ask your teacher for clarification
A significant amount of plagiarism is accidental (i.e. not using in-text citations or
footnotes or not providing a list of Works Cited) and/or sloppy research. Don't let this
happen to you. Plagiarism is preventable!
PLAGIARIZED ASSIGNMENTS WILL RECEIVE A MARK OF
ZERO.