“PLAGIARISM is the unethical quotation of another’s words or the unethical use of another’s ideas or data in such a way as to let the world conclude they are your own words, ideas, or data. With proper attribution, to quote another’s thoughts and words is appropriate; plagiarizing, however, is cheating, and it may break copyright law as well. Unconscious plagiarism does occur, but even that not everyone will excuse.” —Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–), The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, 1993.
Plagiarism is a serious offense in the world of the academe. Your school will have specific policies on what constitutes plagiarism. Be careful when citing sources for your information, as these citations serve two purposes: 1) it lets your reader know your source and 2) gives proper credit to the author. The internet makes it easier to do research but also makes it more tempting to cut and paste information. Aside from presenting a phrase, sentence, or passage from another writer's work without using quotation marks or presenting other people’s ideas as your own, the NYU Student’s Handbook says plagiarism also includes purchasing a term paper or research; “collaborating” between two or more students who then submit the same paper under their individual names; submitting the same paper for two or more courses without the knowledge and expressed permission of all instructors involved; giving permission to another student to use your work for a class; and copying another person’s paper, math or physics problems, computer programs, lab results, or any other work. And if you think it’s easy to get away with it, an increasing number of professors are using software and online products to determine if you plagiarized your paper.
To learn more about plagiarism and what may constitute it, the website, www.plagiarism.org provides useful information and readings.
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