How to Avoid Plagiarism
In order to avoid plagiarism, you must give credit when
- You use another person's ideas, opinions, or theories.
- You use facts, statistics, graphics, drawings, music, etc., or any other type of information that does not comprise common knowledge.
- You use quotations from another person's spoken or written word.
- You paraphrase another person's spoken or written word.
Recommendations
- Begin the writing process by stating your ideas; then go back to the author's original work.
- Use quotation marks and credit the source (author) when you copy exact wording.
- Use your own words (paraphrase) instead of copying directly when possible.
- Even when you paraphrase another author's writings, you must give credit to that author.
- If the form of citation and reference are not correct, the attribution to the original author is likely to be incomplete. Therefore, improper use of style can result in plagiarism. Get a style manual and use it.
- The figure below may help to guide your decisions.

This content is part of the Understanding Plagiarism tutorial created by the Indiana University School of Education.
Formatting Citations
- Citing Your Sources - a brief online guide to the main citation styles and a brief discussion on what constitutes plagiarism.
- MLA handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th edition. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2009.
Doe Reference Reference Hall LB2369 .G53 2009
Main Gardner Stacks LB2369 .G53 2009
Many older editions available throughout the UCB libraries. - The Chicago Manual of Style (UCB-only access)
15th ed. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2003. Searchable, online version of the Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition).
Many print editions available throughout the UCB Libraries. - Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles--MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More (UCB-only access) Charles Lipson. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2006.
Many print editions throughout the libraries. - Columbia Guide to Online Style (UCB-only access)
Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor. 2nd ed. NY: Columbia Univ. Press. 2006.
Many print editions throughout the UCB libraries.
Why Cite Sources
| "Ethics, copyright laws, and courtesy to readers require authors to identify the sources of direct quotations and of any facts or opinions not generally known or easily checked."-- |
|
Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (Chicago: Chicago Univ. Press), p. 59
|
Whenever you quote or base your ideas on another person's work, you must document the source you used. Even when you do not quote directly from another work, if reading that source contributed to the ideas presented in your paper, you must give the authors proper credit.
By following these guidelines, you avoid plagiarism, which is a serious violation of the Code of Student Conduct.
Read more
Last Update: December 04, 2012 15:48


