Plagiarism

Oxford English Dictionary entry for plagiarism. Use the OED to define and learn the history of words.

Plagiarism is derived from Greek and Latin terms for kidnapping

Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of someone else as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source. Many students plagiarize without realizing it. If you don't credit the author, you are committing a type of theft called plagiarism.

When you work on a research paper you will probably find supporting material for your paper from works by others. When you quote people -- or even when you summarize or paraphrase information found in books, articles, or Web pages -- you must acknowledge the original author.

It is plagiarism when you:

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Last modified: Aug 08, 2008, 16:21 EDT