Defining Plagiarism

According to Webster’s II New College Dictionary¹ the definition of “plagiarize” is:

1. To steal and use (the ideas or writings of another) as one’s own
2. To take passages or ideas from and use them as one’s own

Plagiarism is not only dishonest; it can also have severe consequences, such as academic suspension or expulsion.

General Guidelines

Authors should be aware of the general guidelines concerning plagiarism:

• All words taken verbatim from any source must be properly documented. This includes placing short texts in quotation marks and longer texts in an indented, free-standing block form.
• Many writers attempt to avoid plagiarism by paraphrasing in their own words. However, if the idea or information is not public knowledge, the original source must be credited.
• Common knowledge is considered to be in the public domain and does not need to be cited.
• Information that is obtained from another work must be identified by a reference citation that allows the reader to track down the original source. Authors should choose a citation style to document their sources. You can learn more about citation styles here.
• If you are unsure about a specific situation, it’s always a good idea to use caution and cite the source where you found the information.

You may view these Examples of Plagiarism to develop a better understanding of these concepts.

¹Berube, M. S., Jost, D. A., Severynse, M., & Ellis, K. (Eds.). (2001). Webster’s II new college dictionary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Additional Resources

The Writing Place - Avoiding Plagiarism

Yale University - Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism

Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources