Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using other people's ideas or words as your own without properly giving credit to the original author. Sometime plagiarism is unintentional, but is still considered academic dishonesty.

What is plagiarism?

• Using ideas, quotes, or paraphrasing from the original text without citing the source.
• Paraphrasing a portion of the original text using the same sentence structure.
• Paraphrasing a portion of the original text using words that are not your own.

What can you do to avoid plagiarism?

• Become familiar with appropriate citation styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) used by different academic disciplines.
• Try using Zotero or Mendeley to keep track of the sources you're using.
• Not sure if you've fully processed an idea? Ask your professor, a writing tutor, or a librarian.

Want to explore further? Take a look at these links to find out more about avoiding plagiarism. The video below comes from librarians at Bainbridge College and addresses common questions and judgement calls associated with integrating sources correctly.