A Definition of Plagiarism

College students: practice academic integrity and avoid cheating

© Naomi Rockler-Gladen

A dictionary., Morguefile.com.

Plagiarism is the act of taking credit for someone else's work. To help you avoid plagiarism, here is a detailed discussion of different forms of plagiarism.

What is plagiarism? Obviously, if a student downloads a college essay on the downfall of Macbeth and hands it to his or her English Composition teacher, that's cheating. But sometimes there are gray areas where a student may not know that their actions are plagiarism.

According to Dictionary.com, plagiarism is "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." See? That wasn't plagiarism. I used someone else's words to help make my point, but I gave credit to the author.

Believe me, there are plenty of good reasons to avoid plagiarism, especially because professors know how to prevent plagiarism. Here is a detailed definition of plagiarism for you to familiarize yourself with:

Plagiarism is the act of taking credit for someone else's work. In college, this usually involves writing, but other kinds of work can be plagiarized as well, including music, ideas, and artwork. Taking credit for work that someone else created is stealing and is a violation of intellectual property law. So plagiarism is more than just a violation of school policies and a teacher's trust. It is an illegal activity that isn't so different than stealing someone's iPod or wallet.

What actions are considered plagiarism? Any time someone uses another author's words or ideas without correctly giving them credit, that's plagiarism. Here are some examples.

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The copyright of the article A Definition of Plagiarism in Study Skills is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish A Definition of Plagiarism must be granted by the author in writing.




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