What is plagiarism?
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Definition
from Dictionary.com: "the unauthorized use or
close imitation of the language and thoughts of
another author and the representation of them as
one's own original work" "plagiarism." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 14 Oct. 2009. Web. Definition
from the MLA Handbook: "Derived from
the Latin word plagiarius
('kidnapper'), to plagiarize means 'to
commit literary theft' and 'to present as new
and original an idea or product derived from an
existing source' (Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary [11th ed.; 2003;
print]). Plagiarism involves two kinds of
wrongs. Using another person's ideas,
information, or expressions without
acknowledging that person's work constitutes
intellectual theft. Passing off another person's
ideas, information, or expressions as your own
to get a better grade or gain some other
advantage constitutes fraud. Plagiarism is
sometimes a moral and ethical offense rather
than a legal one since some instances of
plagiarism fall outside the scope of copyright
infringement, a legal offense . . ." (52). MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2009. Print. Definition from the APA Publication Manual (2010): "Researchers do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due (APA Ethics Code Standard 8.11, Plagiarism). Quotation marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another. Each time you paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words), you need to credit the source in the text. . . . The key element of this principle is that authors do not present the work of a other as if it were their own work. This can extend to ideas as well as written words" (pp. 15-16). References entry in APA format: American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. |