How can I avoid plagiarism?
Answer
Importance of Avoiding Plagiarism
It is important to avoid plagiarism for 3 reasons.
- When you plagiarize your work, you are not truly learning.
- It is dishonest to copy the work of another person, and it violates academic integrity.
- If you plagiarize, you may face a formal academic integrity policy violation that can harm your academic career.
Avoiding Plagiarism
Use the following techniques to avoid plagiarism in your assignments:
- Paraphrase
- Cite your sources
Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing is the process of rewriting something that you read and putting it into your own words. In other words, you never want to put someone else's writing in your assignment word-for-word unless you are making a direct quote. You always want to restate the information in your own voice.
Cite your Sources: Once you paraphrase your information, include an in-text citation to indicate where you found your information. This gives credit to the person originally responsible for the information and ensures academic integrity. Your in-text citation should match a full citation provided in your list of references at the end of your assignment.
Resources
MLA In-Text Citations: OWL at Purdue
Best Practices to Avoid Plagiarism: OWL at Purdue
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