How to avoid plagiarism
Avoiding Plagiarism
When writing an academic paper, you mustacknowledge all the resources(oral, print, or web) that you used in your research. Not only does this allow your instructor to locate the sources you mention, it prevents you from being accused ofplagiarism. In most instances, plagiarism is unintentional; it can be confusing to know what to cite. In general, it is better to be safe than sorry.
- Have you taken an exact quote from your original source?
If yes, then youneed to quote the sourceand provide a page number in your in-text citation. You must give them credit.
- Have you paraphrased from your original source?
If yes, then you still mustprovide citation information. In Chicago and MLA styles you must provide a page number. In APA, you don't have to provide page numbers though it is recommended.
- You include information that you think is “common knowledge” such as: Victoria is the Capital of British Columbia. Do you need to cite this information?
No, youdo notneed tocite information that is considered "common knowledge."
- Is it plagiarism to cut and paste from an electronic document without acknowledging the source?
Absolutely. Just because it is easy to do, doesn't make it right.Cite the source!
- You’ve added a statistic found on the Statistics Canada website. Since it is a government site, you do not need to cite the source. Is that correct?
No, it is not. Evengovernment information must be cited.
