Plagiarism: a major writing mistake

Plagiarism occurs when a writer uses another writer’s written work but presents it as his own.  It involves using a writer’s words, opinions, and ideas without giving him credit for it.  Even if a writer unwittingly plagiarizes another’s work, the legal and ethical ramifications can be costly.

Ways to avoid plagiarism:

• All direct quotations from another writer’s work should be surrounded by quotation marks and attributed to the writer.
• Paraphrased information that is taken from an author’s ideas and opinions should list the author as the source of the information.
• Generally known facts and opinions that are available from a number of sources do not require a citation (reference to the source of the information).
• Facts that are not generally known or easily checked require citations.

If there is uncertainty about whether or not a source should be cited, then err on the side of caution and give the author credit for his information.

Reference materials used to write this article:

Avoid Plagiarism, The OWL at Purdue, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/
The Chicago Manual of Style, The University of Chicago Press
The Facts on File: Guide to Good Writing, Martin H. Manser