How to avoid plagiarism in your college writing

According do www.dictionary.com, plagiarism is defined as; the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. Many college students either do not take plagiarism seriously, or do not know enough about how to research and write a paper to avoid plagiarism. This article will help college students understand when sources need to be cited.

Learn when to cite in your academic writing. What needs to be cited? Anytime you use a word-for-word quote, the source needs to be given credit. If you are paraphrasing another persons' ideas, or any ideas that are not your own, even if they are from a class lecture or a website they need to be properly cited. What does not need to be cited? Anything that would be considered common knowledge, like scientific or historical facts. There is no need to site your own research or writing.

If you are asked to work in a group, ask your professor ahead of time what their expectation are. If your group is assignment is to answer 6 essay questions, is it appropriate to each answer 2 of the questions individually then combine all 6 answers and turn it in as a group project? Not only is it not appropriate, its Plagiarism.

Be careful turning in the same work in more than one class. Is it ok to write a paper for one class, make a few changes to it and turn it in for a different class? It's your work right? This is a grey area that is ok at some colleges and universities and not others. Check with your schools' handbook and more importantly check with your professors before you do it.

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