According to the Bellevue University Student Handbook, Plagiarism is defined as "appropriation of the words or ideas of another without crediting the source.”
This means, if you use someone else's words or ideas, you need to give them credit. (We will talk more about "giving credit" later on.)
How to Avoid Plagiarism?
- If you are not the original source, or it is not common knowledge, always, always, always provide the sources for your ideas, words, pictures, graphs, and statistics.
- Don't just copy and paste directly from an article and try to play it off like the words were your own.
- Use quotation marks when you take a direct quote from a resource.
- If you summarize (also known as paraphrasing) an article, you need to provide the article as a source.
Paraphrasing:
- Paraphrasing is the act of taking someone else’s words or data, and putting them into your own words, while preserving the same meaning of the original.
- Paraphrasing is generally good for expressing the main idea of another work.
Quoting:
- Quoting is copying the exact words of one work into another work.
- Quoting is usually used when the expression in the original work best conveys an idea.
Common Usable Sources
- Books
- Periodicals (Magazines, Scholarly Journals, newspapers, etc.)
- Television programs
- Electronic sources (Online articles)
Note, you should be careful with the sources you find online. Plagiarism is actually really common on the internet. Be sure your internet sources are credible.
Consequences of Plagiarism
- Bellevue University’s policy is to deal with plagiarism on a case-by-case basis. Instructors discuss incidents of plagiarism with the student before consulting with the Dean of Students. The punishment for plagiarism can be as severe as expulsion from the University.
Credits:
Created with images by Sharon McCutcheon - "I bought all of these used fiction and fantasy themed books at a thrift store for our nine year old son. He loves reading, and that makes me happy." • Jessica Ruscello - "untitled image" • Sharon McCutcheon - "Pile of mail waiting to be sorted and shredded." • Umberto Cofini - "Vintage vinyl records" • Patrick Fore - "Antique Typewriter on Dark Wood" • Trent Erwin - "Hard at work" • Mikhail Pavstyuk - "Stacked books and journal" • Aaron Burden - "Writing with a fountain pen"