Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is claiming someone else’s work or ideas as your own without giving credit. Plagiarism is a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and subject to disciplinary actions. Tips to help you avoid plagiarism include the following:

Cite Your Sources

When you are quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing, you must cite your sources. Use quotation marks in text citations or footnotes as needed. Using someone else’s pictures, videos, music, charts, graphs, etc. also require proper citation.

Beware of self-plagiarism: If using your own work in another context, you must cite that it was used previously,

Paraphrase Properly

Restate someone else’s ideas by using different words and sentence structures. Remember to cite all your sources.

Stay Organized

Make it a habit to keep your notes organized so that you can keep track of your sources. If you cut, copy, or paste text from an online source, remember to save the website information later and include it in your works cited page of bibliography.

Manage Your Time

Waiting to write your paper until the last minute can cause unnecessary stress which can lead to careless mistakes or poor choices. Planning ahead allows for extra time to proofread and catch any errors before turning in your paper.

Ask for Help

If you are unsure about something, ask your instructor or check out these campus and online resources.

• Visit the Writing & Reading Success Centers where tutoring is available for writing and reading assignments and research projects. Tutoring services are available online.
• Purdue Online Writing Lab
• Noodle Tools Express