Plagiarism Defined
Webster’s defines plagiarism as “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the
language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own
original work ” (New York: Gramercy Books, 1996).
In other words, plagiarism is the misappropriation of another person’s words or
ideas. It is therefore of paramount importance that you properly cite all sources and
make no claim to originality when restating someone else’s thoughts to develop or
underscore your own argument. Mastery of the technical aspects of writing should help
you ward off any ambiguity regarding ownership or authorship of a statement or idea.
How to Avoid Plagiarism
1. When you take handwritten notes or cut and paste on the computer, carefully
document all published sources, including websites, CD-ROMs, and other electronic
media. Identify sources by author, title, place of publication, publisher, date, and page
numbers.
2. When quoting from a source, indicate borrowed phrases and sentences by
enclosing them in quotation marks or, in the case of longer passages, by setting them off
in indented single-space blocks.
3. Paraphrasing, that is, substituting your own synonyms for the words in a
borrowed quotation, constitutes plagiarism if you claim the idea as your own. You
should credit the source by referencing the author or title and page number in
parentheses. Example: (Vasquez 99).
4. It is not necessary to document sources for commonly known facts, proverbial
sayings or famous quotations, but facts that are not common knowledge and are derived
from the work of another must be cited. If you are not certain, cite.
5. Provide complete documentation of your sources in an alphabetized list of
“Works Cited” at the end of your paper.
6. Submitting your own work for credit more than once, without authorization from
your professors, is a form of plagiarism.
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