Plagiarism

What Is Plagiarism and How to Avoid It

Students must learn to document their sources correctly, so that while they may be using the ideas and even the words of others, they will not be charged with plagiarism. A charge of plagiarism can have severe consequences, including expulsion from a college or university.

Plagiarism is using the ideas and words of others without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. "To steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one's own; use another's production without crediting the source; to commit literary theft; present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source." Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (2002)

Because the internet provides a huge online library of documented and undocumented information for students to cut and paste into their research reports and essays, prevention and detection of plagiarism is very difficult. It therefore becomes even more important to teach what constitutes plagiarism, and the various rules which apply.

But writing essays and reports based on the research findings of others is filled with rules that students often don’t know how to follow. They must learn to locate and analyze information from many different sources. They must then make their own conclusions about subjects which are new to them. In addition, they must agree or disagree with the established scholars, and try to say something new and original written in a style of their own.

How can students follow all these complex research steps while quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing the work of others without plagiarizing?

The following websites provide guidelines for citing and documenting sources which will help students to present their ideas in the best way possible:

For further information, or help creating a bibliography, please contact the Librarian at m.lustigman@bialikmtl.ca

Marsha Lustigman
February, 2006

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