Defining Plagiarism
The FSU Academic Honor Policy defines plagiarism as "presenting the work of another as one's own (i.e. without proper acknowledgement of the source)."
Unintentional Plagiarism
Unintentional plagiarism occurs when a writer accidentally fails to correctly cite or credit sources used in their work. This can occur when a researcher misunderstands if they need to cite a particular piece of information, have an incorrect understanding of citation conventions, or simply make a typographical error.
Intentional Plagiarism
Intentional plagiarism occurs for a variety of reasons, from fear of failure to researchers seeking an easy way out. Intentional plagiarism takes a variety of forms but includes:
- Copying information from a source text without attribution.
- Paraphrasing information from a source text without attribution.
- Turning in a peer's work as your own.
- Purchasing a paper from a commercial source.
- Wilhoit, S. (1994). Helping students avoid plagiarism. College Teaching, 42 (4), 161-164.
Self-Plagiarism
Did you know that you can plagiarize your own work? If you reuse your own work without attribution, that's self-plagiarism. Many courses and publications have rules about using prior work, so please check with instructors, editors, and guidelines for ways to appropriately include previously done work if it is allowed.