What exactly is plagiarism?
Plagiarism occurs when you use another person's work or ideas, but pass them off as your own. Copying sentences, information, or ideas from another source without crediting that source is dishonest. It can get you in trouble with your teacher and principal, and can lead to some heavy consequences. Thankfully, plagiarism can be easily avoided if you keep a few guidelines (outlined below) in mind while you are writing and taking notes.
But everyone does it, don't they?It's true that we often use, remix, and build upon other people's works. That is, in part, what learning is all about. However, there is a big difference between plagiarizing and using someone's work or ideas fairly, ethically, and appropriately. In the former, the original author or creator does not get credit for their ideas or hard work. In the latter, they do. Just as you want others to explain when something was your idea, it's up to you to be clear about when you are incorporating someone else's good idea into your own.
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How can I avoid plagiarism
in my note-taking and writing?
The following guidelines offer a number of simple things that you can do to give credit where credit is due and thus avoid plagiarizing.
Put quotation marks around everything you copy directly.
There's nothing wrong with writing down or even using information directly from another source. You just have to remember that it wasn't your idea and, thus, give the original source credit. If you put quotation marks around direct quotes in your notes, you'll be much more likely to use and cite it correctly later.
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Try to paraphrase if you can.
Paraphrasing, or putting ideas into your own words in your notes, is another good strategy for avoiding plagiarism. As mentioned elsewhere on this site, paraphrasing or answering questions about a text can also help you interpret its meaning. If you are taking notes on a textbook, read the passage first. Then put the book aside and re-write what you learned from the passage. Make sure that you are actually using your own words to describe the idea, and not just rearranging a couple of vocabulary terms. Then, check your details against the original text once more to make sure you were able to maintain the original meaning. It's still a good idea to mark in your notes where information came from.
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Record a source for anything that isn't common knowledge.
Common knowledge refers to any information that "can be found in numerous places and are likely to be known by a lot of people" (Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University). Because such information is common knowledge, it does not require a source citation. However, any other information--whether fact-based, opinion-based, or interpretation--requires a reference if it does not represent your own original idea.
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When in doubt, cite the source.
There are bound to be some situations where you are uncertain whether a citation is needed or not. In these cases, it's probably a good idea just to cite the information--it's better to be on the safe side and include more reference information than is necessary. If you're unsure how to go about citing source information in an appropriate style, you can ask your teacher or school librarian.
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*Definitions and descriptions on this page were adapted for a middle school audience from content developed by the Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University. Please visit the References page for a full citation.
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