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Academic writing is based on the work of others and expects individual creativity as well. This balance between working from knowledge gained from reading and developing a personal contribution can make decisions about citing sources difficult.
Using someone else's ideas in your paper without giving them credit is plagiarism.
Some forms of plagiarism are easy to understand and avoid. These are also the most blameworthy.
Turning in a paper written by someone else is obviously wrong. This includes purchasing a paper over the internet or paying someone to write a paper for you. Your professor or other reader expects the work you signed to be your work.
Copying sentences and paragraphs from other sources and including them in your paper without citing them is also obviously wrong.
Even when you decide which parts of someone else’s writing or ideas to include, they still belong to that person and not to you. Each time you take words or ideas from someone else these need to be acknowledged with proper citation.
It is still copying if the sentences and paragraphs were created by artificial intelligence (Chat GPT or other AI programs). Any use of artificial intelligence should be discussed in advance with the instructor and cited.
Plagiarism can also be the result of not fully understanding the norms of academic writing. This guide is designed to help you develop that understanding.
Understand basic academic integrity standards.
Recognize clear examples of plagiarism.
Understandand ways to avoid accidental plagiarism.
