5.2 Understanding Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas as though they were your own, and not giving that person credit. The expression of original ideas is considered "intellectual property." To use that property without crediting the author or creator can be a serious offense in both educational and professional environments.

As a student, you will be both using other’s knowledge as well as your own insights to create new scholarship. To do this in a way that meets academic integrity standards, you must acknowledge the part of your work that develops from others’ efforts. You do this by citing the work of others. You plagiarize when you fail to acknowledge the work of others and do not follow appropriate citation guidelines.

"Ethical Use & Citing Sources," Ohio State Univ. Libraries

Types of Plagiarism

Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional; both are wrong. Intentional plagiarism is when you knowingly use someone else's work and present it as your own.

Students who take incomplete notes, do not understand the research process, or who are generally uninformed about the correct way to gather and cite sources could potentially commit unintentional or accidental plagiarism.

Examples of Plagiarism

  • Writing down information word for word, and neglecting to note the author and source
  • Taking notes without distinguishing between your words and another author’s, and then presenting the ideas as your own
  • Copy/pasting from the Web into your work without crediting the author
  • Using unique phrases or sentences of another author without acknowledgment
  • Buying or acquiring a research paper and turning it in as your own
  • Using a classmate’s work and turning it in as your own

Avoiding Plagiarism

To avoid plagiarism, scholars take accurate notes when gathering original material, use citations in the text of their paper, and create an accurate Works Cited list/bibliography at the end of their paper.

  1. Make a list of the authors and sources you find while gathering your research.
  2. In your notes, separate the exact words of an author from your own ideas by using quotation marks around the original author’s words.
  3. In the text of your paper, carefully cite each author and source. Each reference in the text of your research paper should link to a full citation the Works Cited list at the end of the research paper.

When Should I Cite?

You should provide a citation whenever your writing is based on someone else's work. For example:

Quote: When you use phrases or sentences exactly as they appear in the source document. Note the quotation marks.

J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote, “…not all those who wander are lost” (182).

Paraphrase: When you restate an idea from the source document using your own words.

In Lord of the Rings, Tolkien speaks about wandering adventurers who may seem lost, but instead are on a personal quest (182).

Summarize: When you provide a brief version of what you learned from the source document.

Not everyone who wanders is necessarily lost (Tolkien 182).

Textbox: "Ethical Use and Citing Sources" Links to an external site. by Teaching & Learning, Ohio State University Libraries Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY 4.0 Links to an external site.

Image: "to [bookmark] Links to an external site." by Shannon E Thomas Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY 4.0 Links to an external site.