Plagiarism & You
Introduction | Examples | You Try ItThis tutorial will show you how to use information correctly without plagiarizing. You will learn how to recognize plagiarism, and how to tell the difference between plagiarism and appropriate use of information in research papers.
Using someone else’s words or ideas without properly giving credit is plagiarism. For more information about Penn State’s policy on plagiarism read A Statement on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity.
To avoid plagiarism, there are three important things to keep in mind: citing your sources, using quotation marks, and paraphrasing.
Any time you use words from another source, such as a Web site, book, journal article, or even a friend’s English paper, you must give proper credit to the source.
Even if you don’t use someone else’s words, but you refer to an idea or concept from another source, you must also give credit.
“Citing your sources” means giving all of the information about your source, such as author, title, and date of publication, so someone else can find that source again. For information on how to cite sources properly in your research paper, see the Citing Your Sources module in this tutorial.
If you use someone else’s exact words, you need to put those words in quotation marks. Changing a few words here and there is not enough to avoid plagiarism. Either put the exact phrase you are quoting in quotation marks, or rewrite it entirely in your own words.
Quoting extensively from another source, even if you do it properly, is not appropriate for a research paper. Use quotations to support your arguments or clarify important points, but create your own argument using your own words.
In a paraphrase, you rewrite what someone else has said in your own way. Just as you have a personality that is different from everyone else’s, you as a writer have your own voice and style. When you write, even when you are paraphrasing, your writing should sound like it came from you, not from someone else.
| Plagiarism | Paraphrasing |
| Copying sentences, phrases or paragraphs exactly as they appear in the original source
Copying sentences and putting them in a different order Copying sentences and replacing a few words with synonyms Copying sentences and adding a few of your own |
Re-stating the author’s idea in your own words, using your own voice Summarizing the author’s main points in your own words |
Click here for examples of correct and incorrect ways of using information.
Please address questions and comments about this tutorial to Instructional Programs at instruct@psulias.psu.edu
Search
Contact
Get Help
- Information and Services
- For Students
- For Faculty, Instructors, and Staff
- For Visitors
- For Off-Campus Users
- For Persons with Disabilities
- For Alumni