Brown has an academic code.
(By the way, yes, I know that the link above sucks, because it takes you to the Dean of the College's page about the academic code. You have to click on a link to get to the actual code, and I can't just put a link to it).
The code is weird. It's written in a semi-legalistic style that isn't the easiest thing in the world to interpret. So, every faculty member interprets it differently. I want to tell you my interpretation.
It's really easy (and really tempting) to plagiarize. If you don't know what plagiarism is - it's representing someone else's work as your own. If you ever cut and paste something from another source (or just copy the words) you're plagiarizing.
Quoting can be OK, as long as you cite appropriate. Quoting - which means you're telling your reader that these aren't your words is REALLY BAD WRITING, - but it's not against the academic code. Copying words without quoting - that's where the line is.
So how to avoid doing this.
1) Read what you are assigned. Reread it if you have to.
2) Take notes on what you read. When you take notes, write the meaning in your own words
3) Don't write a paper (or any assignment for class) with primary sources in front of you. Only your notes.
Yup. I'm ancient. But follow this advice and you'll never have a problem.
There's are other bits here.
1) Always read a class syllabus. Yes, I know they are boring (they are boring for us to write). And most of the stuff that's on a syllabus is required by the university (Seriously). But most professors put their thoughts about plagiarism on the syllabus. For example, I think the use of generative AI, like ChatGPT or Grammerly is not acceptable. Other faculty don't agree with me (that's OK - people can disagree), but I am allowed to have my opinion, and that means I prevent the usage of such resources in my class.
2) If two professors give you the same (or similar) assignments, you should not just write one assignment and turn it in for credit in both courses. Professors, however, have a lot of opinions about this one (and they usually never put it on the syllabus, because it's rare). Talk to them before you turn in the assignment. I have had students come to me asking if they can write papers on their thesis topic (they know it - they know that literature - it's easy). I always say no. But I also know colleagues who don't care about this one, and would say that it's fine.
3) The internet sucks. It's just about the worst way to write a paper or try to answer an exam question. I have often had students try to answer take-home exam questions by typing them into google. Then, they copy (or paraphrase) answers from the web. Sounds smart, right? Many times students will find the wrong answers on the internet.
When I teach my introductory cognitive development class, I use to make students do this. I would have them type in "theory of mind" to Google. The first page that came up used to be a self-published encyclopedia entry by a European graduate student, which was filled with errors of all kinds. Put simply, the internet is not always a reliable source. Mind you, this was from 2003 to about 2014. The grad student eventually took the site down (or it was taken down). But it's easy to find misinformation or just self-published nonsense. (Mind you, I'm away that this blog could be categorized as "self published nonsense" )
I'll end with this comment: When in doubt, ask. In person. Emails get lost. Before class, after class, in office hours. Take 5 minutes to talk to your professor. There's a view that faculty members are really busy. And we are. We do a lot of things, and teaching classes is only one of them. But many of us got into doing this because we love talking about research. But talking about research involves knowing about the ethical responsibilities that come with doing research. Those ethical considerations translate to classroom environments, because we were all students once. I do not know a colleague that doesn't takes that seriously.