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In the most obvious sense, plagiarism is submitting someone else's
paper as you own, e.g., buying a term paper, borrowing an essay from a
friend, or copying an entire article without acknowledging the source.
However, plagiarism also involves some little offenses that students
do not recognize. For example, they think that by paraphrasing
(changing the wording) or by summarizing information, the information
no longer needs to be documented. Or, they commit plagiarism through
sloppy notetaking because they fail to keep a careful record of
information received from written sources. Or, because they are
insecure about their own ability to write clearly, they allow another
person to rewrite their papers for them. Plagiarism is theft.
Therefore, students are under moral obligation not to use any words or
ideas other than their own in any paper they write, unless they are
willing to acknowledge the real source. Information form other sources
enhances a paper and makes it more informative. However, you must
document your source. When in doubt, cite! |
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