This page will give you some tips on how to avoid accidental plagiarism in your papers.
What is plagiarism?
According
to the Academy Honesty Guidelines, it is
| The
attempt to represent the work of another as the product of one's own thought,
whether
the work is published or unpublished, or simply the work of a fellow student. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, quoting oral or written materials without citation on an exam, term paper, homework, or other written materials or oral presentations for an academic requirement; submitting a paper which was purchased from a term paper service as your own work; submitting anyone else's paper as your own work. |
What are the consequences?
It depends,
but they can be quite severe. code
of conduct.
So how do I avoid it?
Document your sources
correctly and completely accordingly to MLA guidelines in your handbook
or on the website. There are lots of specifics, but they all follow
a consistent logic:
Parenthetical notation.
Give a citation whenever you use someone else's ideas, or whenever you directly quote them. Use paranthetical notation, following the pattern:
"quoted stuff" (author's
name page number).
thus:
"Our
civilization is decadent and our language--so the argument runs--must inevitably
share in the general collapse"
(Orwell 680).
or, in your own words:
Our language will collapse along with the general collapse of civilization (Orwell 680).
If, for some reason, you do not have an author's name, replace it with the title of the article:
"Our civilization is decadent and our language--so the argument runs--must inevitably share in the general collapse" ("Politics and the English Language" 680).
As a last resort, give the title of the publication:
"Our civilization is decadent and our language--so the argument runs--must inevitably share in the general collapse" (Horizon 680).
Works
Cited.
Again, MLA citations follow a consistent logic:
Author. Title of Article. Where it was published. Where/When.
A simple example:
Gubar, Susan. Racechanges: White Skin, Black Face in American Culture. New York: Oxford UP, 1997.
There
are many more examples in the handbook and in Elements of Argument.
There are also some answers to common questions on the MLA
website.