(ILA) Lesson Topic 5: Plagiarism

Many of the rules you have learned in this unit have to do with proper citation. Gaining familiarity with these rules is extremely important. An inadvertent mistake can lead to a charge of plagiarism, which is the unaccredited use (both intentional and unintentional) of somebody else's words and ideas.

When exact words or a writer's ideas are taken from a source, this borrowing of information must be acknowledged. Only when the ideas are common knowledge because they can be found in several sources can this information be used without crediting a source.

Once again, just including a list of sources on a Works Cited page is not enough. You don't want to "accidentally plagiarize" because you are being careless and do not include in-text citations within your paper. It is virtually impossible to over-cite, so give credit where credit is due!

If you have questions about documenting a source, ask yourself this question: "Would a mature reader be likely to know this information?" The general rule is "When in doubt, give credit. " If you have any questions concerning plagiarism, please ask your teacher.

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