• 4.3: Avoiding Plagiarism

      • 4.3.1: Understanding Plagiarism

        • Brock University: BrockLibrary: "What Is Plagiarism and How to Avoid It" Page

          You have been practicing using quotation, paraphrase, and summary to incorporate others' ideas into your own writing. In many types of academic writing, it is important to use facts and ideas from outside sources to support your own analysis and conclusions. Whenever you introduce an idea from an outside source, it is important to attribute that idea to that source. Otherwise, you are taking credit for someone else's work. This is called plagiarism.

          Different writing communities may have somewhat different norms when it comes to avoiding plagiarism. Watch this short video for an introduction to how colleges and universities in the United States define plagiarism and how students can avoid plagiarizing in their own writing.

        • The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: "Plagiarism" Page

          After watching the previous video, you should have a basic understanding of plagiarism. Before continuing in this subunit, take a moment to reflect and check your understanding. Write a short paragraph in which you:

          • define plagiarism;
          • explain why plagiarism is unacceptable;
          • explain how to avoid plagiarism in your writing; and
          • identify at least one question you still have about plagiarism.

          When you have completed this reflection activity, read this article to check your understanding and learn more about implementing strategies for avoiding plagiarism.

      • 4.3.2: Citation Styles

        • Handbook for Writers, v.1.0: "Chapter 22, Section 3: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing"

          As you have been learning, citation is the most important strategy for avoiding plagiarism. This article gives a brief overview of how to cite sources in three of the main citation styles: APA, MLA, and CMS. Read the article to gain a basic understanding of the different ways writers can format citations in their essays. Don't worry too much about the specifics of each style at this time, however. In most cases, your professor will tell you which styles she or he wants you to use for a particular course or assignment.