LibGuides: Avoiding Plagiarism: About Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is:

Using someone else's words or ideas without properly citing the source
Reusing your own words or ideas from another paper (without citing yourself)
Turning in a paper you did not write, even if you paid for it
Using an image, chart, graph or photograph without properly citing the source
Doing any of the above, intentionally or unintentionally, is still plagiarism

There are many interactive tutorials, videos, and websites dedicated to this topic that can help you learn how to write academic papers and attribute ideas appropriately. If you are ever in doubt about what or how to cite, please ask your instructor, the writing center or Ask a Librarian!

Understanding Citation Styles

Useful Online Tools

Harvard Guide to Using Sources: Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
Learn when and how to summarize and paraphrase and when and how much to quote a source.
OWL Purdue
An excellent free online resource that gives you all the information you need on citing resources in APA and MLA formats. The best option for a quick reference guide. The page even includes a free citation generator!
Plagiarism.org
Plagiarism is a common (and often misunderstood) problem that is often the result of a lack of knowledge and skills. Our mission is to support the education community with a comprehensive set of resources to help students write with integrity.
San José State University Writing Center: Paraphrasing
Learn about the key aspects of a paraphrase, view examples of paraphrasing, as well as tips on how to paraphrase and activities to practice paraphrasing.

Avoiding Plagiarism: About Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is:

Understanding Citation Styles

Useful Online Tools

Citing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting