This tutorial was created in collaboration with Library, Information, and Technology Services (LITS) at Mount Holyoke.
What is Plagiarism?
The most serious mistake you can make in misusing sources is to plagiarize. The word "plagiarize" comes from the Latin word for kidnapping. You plagiarize when you take another author's ideas or words, and use them in such a way that it appears that the ideas or words are your own. There are really two kinds of plagiarism.
1. You take someone else's words. If you use another person's language, then you must notate explicitly (using quotation marks or block quotes) so that you clearly indicate that the words are someone else's, and not yours.2. You use someone else's idea or finding. The critical point here is that any time you cite a fact that is not common knowledge, use an insight or thesis, or follow the structure or plan of another person's writing, you must cite the source for that idea, even if you use your own words to describe it. It is not always easy to decide which facts are considered common knowledge. When in doubt, cite a source. It does not matter whether you intend to plagiarize; if you use someone else's words or ideas without making it perfectly clear that you're doing so, you have committed a serious breach of the Mount Holyoke honor code.
There are also offenses that are not plagiarism but that can be very serious. You must make sure that any source is an appropriate one and that your citation conforms to proper scholarly procedures. For example, even re-using your own writing from one class to another is a violation of the Honor Code unless you have permission from your instructor. If you don’t know whether a source is appropriate or what constitutes scholarly procedure, consult your professor.
The following chart, taken from a web site at Purdue University, represents
plagiarism as a spectrum.
Actions that might be seen as plagiarism
Buying, stealing or
borrowing a paper
when paraphrasingHiring someone to write your paper Building on someone's ideas without citation
(on purpose or by accident)Deliberate Plagiarism .......................................................Possibly Accidental Plagiarism
Chart from: Avoiding Plagiarism. 2002. Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL).
Keep in mind that collaborating with other students while writing a paper is not in itself plagiarism, and may be wholly appropriate. Ask your professor for guidance about what kinds of collaboration are allowed for a particular course.
What to cite and how can vary by discipline, but some rules always apply. See this page for more on discipline specific rules of citation.