Urban Honors Program: Plagiarism

Plagiarism is when you present someone else's work or ideas as your own. 

Plagiarism can be accidental or intentional cheating. Plagarism is taken very seriously as a form of academic misconduct, and it is important to make sure that you acknowledge when information you are presenting comes from other people or authors. This is why citations are an essential part of your paper or presentation.

 Plagiarism can be:

• Copying someone's words without giving them credit
• Quoting somebody's words incorrectly or out of context
• Using or repeating someone's ideas or concepts without giving them credit
• Misrepresenting someone's ideas or concepts
• Copying images or music without permission or without proper attribution
• Citing incorrectly - i.e. citing the wrong source or having incomplete or inaccurate citations
• Intentionally presenting someone else's work as your own - i.e. copying off fellow students' works, submitting papers you did not write
• Failing to acknowledge the contribution of others in work produced collaboratively

Avoid plagiarism by understanding what you do and do not need to cite.  If you are still unsure after viewing this page, please try the following sites for further information:

All Things Considered: "Guest Host Melissa Block talks with Thomas Mallon, author of Stolen Words: Forays into the Origins and Ravages of Plagiarism, about the discovery of plagiarism by well-known authors such as Steven Ambrose, and research techniques which should help avoid the problem."

Link to interview