What Is Plagiarism?

Using other people's ideas and words without properly crediting them is called plagiarism. To plagiarize from another's work is to copy thoughts, phrases, or sentences and pretend that they are your own. You must always attribute words, ideas, and images, that you borrow from others. Otherwise, it's not borrowing - it's stealing. A good way to avoid plagiarizing is to make notes in your own words as you do your research. Then, when you use your notes for the final report, you will be using your own thoughts and style of writing. If you read something that expresses exactly what you want to say, then put it in your report as a direct quotation, giving the proper credit to the source.