Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own by failing to give them credit.
All of the following are considered plagiarism:
- Copying all or part of another person's work
- Paying another person to write your essay or report
- Having another person write your essay or report
- Failing to cite another person's ideas
- Rewording, summarizing or paraphrasing another's ideas without giving credit
- Stealing another person's essay or report
- Copying all or part of another source, such as information found in a website, without citing the source
(Source it!)
Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources.
When should I be worried about citing sources?
- if you quote an author, even if you are only borrowing a single word, you need to tell your reader the origin of the quotation
- if you restate an idea, thesis, or opinion stated by an author
- if you restate an expert's theory or opinion
- if you use facts that are not common knowledge
- if you need to provide an informational or explanatory note
1. There are two main formats: MLA and APA. We use MLA at Ruth Thompson MS.
2. On the computer, in the Digital Library, you will find "Source it: a guide to documenting your research". Read the document! Source it!
3. Check out the website: www.easybib.com
4. Refer to the Work Cited Source Guide on library.rtms.ca for examples.