Library Research: Step-by-Step: 5b. Plagiarism

According to the Bethel College Student Handbook, plagiarism is the act of offering another's words, ideas, data, or conclusions as one's own.  It is considered a serious academic offense punishable at minimum by failure on the paper or oral project, and may result in failure in the course or even expulsion from the institution, according to faculty assessment of sillfulness and/or negligence.

Even if you paraphrase or put something into your own words, you still need to cite the original source.

Think plagiarism is just an issue for college students writing research papers. Think again!  Check out these real world examples of celebrities being accused of plagiarizing.

• Ann Coulter
• Barack Obama
• Coldplay
• Jessica Seinfeld

To avoid plagiarizing someone else words or ideas, make sure you:

• Paraphrase the original text into your own words. Be sure you are not just rearranging phrases or replacing a couple of words.
• Use quotation marks around text that has been taken directly from the original source.
• Cite every source of information you use to write your paper unless it is common knowledge or the results of your own research. This includes facts, figures, and statistics as well as opinions and arguments.