Plagiarism

Plagiarism is taking another’s ideas, words, images, term paper, etc. and putting your name on it without saying, “Hey, this section is by so-and-so.” Quoting from Shakespeare in a paper is not plagiarism as long as you include his name in a proper MLA citation or works cited page. If you read someone else’s paper, website, book, or the like, and re-write or paraphrase the ideas without telling your reader where you got the idea, that is plagiarism. If you get information or ideas from another source, give due credit. If you have any questions or concerns that a part of your paper might be inadvertently plagiarized, ask your teacher. No one is going to get in trouble for it before the paper is turned in.

Repercussions

If you plagiarize, you will fail. There will be no slapping of hands, no talks in the hall. Your teacher will certainly give any suspected plagiarist a chance to explain, but there is no reason for a student to represent another’s work as his or her own.