What is plagiarism How can you avoid it Essays - Misconduct

What is plagiarism? How can you avoid it? Plagiarism can be defined in many different ways. According to Indiana University, Plagiarism is using others' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. This would be a pretty clear definition of what plagiarism is but, o ne might say , that it isn't a fair claim because one may have the same idea about something as someone else. Let's look a little more in depth. Per SFA's Dishonesty Policy, examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to: submitting an assignment as one's own work when it is at least partly the work of another person; submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from the Internet or another source; and/or, Incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one's paper or presentation without giving the author credit. It's not enough to just know what plagiarism is, we must know how to avoid it. Here are 6 ways to avoid plagiarism per writecheck.com. Paraphrase - So you have found information that is perfect for your research paper. Read it and put it into your own words. Make sure that you do not copy verbatim more than two words in a row from the text you have found. If you do use more than two words together, you will have to use quotation marks. We will get into quoting properly soon. Cite - Citing is one of the effective ways to avoid plagiarism. Follow the document formatting guidelines (i.e. APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) used by your educational institution or the institution that issued the research request. This usually entails the addition of the author(s) and the date of the publication or similar information. Citing is really that simple. Not citing properly can constitute plagiarism. Quoting - When quoting a source, use the quote exactly the way it appears. No one wants to be misquoted. Most institutions of higher learning frown on "block quotes" or quotes of 40 words or more. A scholar should be able to effectively paraphrase most material. This process takes time, but the effort pays off! Quoting must be done correctly to avoid plagiarism allegations. Citing Quotes - Citing a quote can be different than citing paraphrased material. This practice usually involves the addition of a page number, or a paragraph number in the case of web content. Citing Your Own Material - If some of the material you are using for your research paper was used by you in your current class, a previous one, or anywhere else you must cite yourself. Treat the text the same as you would if someone else wrote it. It may sound odd, but using material you have used before is called self-plagiarism, and it is not acceptable. Referencing - One of the most important ways to avoid plagiarism is including a reference page or page of works cited at the end of your research paper. Again, this page must meet the document formatting guidelines used by your educational institution. This information is very specific and includes the author(s), date of publication, title, and source. Follow the directions for this page carefully. You will want to get the references right . As we can see there are many different ways to define what plagiarism is. The main goal of avoiding it is to make sure that when you use someone's words or ideas to make sure they are given the credit. Julie Florence 601 Crestline Drive Palestine, Texas 75801 July 24, 2016 Trinity Valley Community College 100 Cardinal Drive Athens, Texas 75751 Attention: Director of Maintenance Subject: Band Hall Lady's Room Earlier this year it was reported to your department that the Lady's Room in the Band Hall was in need of repair. A request for repair was sent to your office on May 17, 2016, and again on May 31, 2016. As of this date no repairs have taken placed. I am requesting an immediate action to take place with this problem. The sink has no hot water, and does not drain properly. The toilet handle is broken preventing a complete flush. As mentioned above, this is the only Lady's Room in the Band Hall. The only