What is Plagiarism?

     When you use information from a source and do not cite (give credit to)

 

your source, it is called plagiarism. As a writer, you should be aware that

 

"once your creative expression becomes tangible," you automatically own it;

 

however, "if you did not write it, then you do not own it [and as a result] you

 

cannot use it in a way that fails to give credit to the owner." As has been

 

previously mentioned, you must cite your source if you use any information that

 

is not common knowledge (information that the average person is likely to

 

know), if you use a direct quote (the exact words used in your source), if you

 

summarize or paraphrase (putting an idea that is not your own into your own

 

words), or if you use an idea that has not been assimilated by you (when the

 

idea remains in your mind exactly as you read or heard it). Unfortunately,

 

"many students mistakenly think that by changing a few words, they make the

 

writing theirs, and then they 'own' it...That is plagiarism."

 

     You must take care to avoid "non-attribution," (failing to correctly credit

 

you source), "non-citation" (failing to place a quote from your source within

 

quotation marks), and "copy-and paste" (inserting text from an Internet source

 

into your own document) errors. In fact, the major causes of plagiarism are

 

"non-attribution, non-citation," and "copy-and-paste" plagiarism from the

 

Internet. The effects of plagiarism: working journalists run the risk of losing

 

their jobs, professional writers run the risk of being sued, and students run the

 

risk of failing a course or, in some cases, expulsion. To avoid such

 

occurrences, your writing project should be proofread at least three times

 

(once by you, once by someone else, and then for a second time by you)

 

before you present it to your instructor.

 

Bibliography

Griffith, Kelley. Writing Essays about Literature: A Guide and Style Sheet.

     Boston: Thompson Wadsworth, 2006.

Morin, Laurie. "Ethics in Peer Tutoring." University of the District of Columbia

     2008 Peer Tutoring Class Lecture, Washington, D. C., 25 April 2008.