Resources for Students

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to know what it is and learn strategies to avoid committing the crime inadvertently, because, as we all know, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Many of the writing handbooks and manuals have a chapter that outline methods of taking notes, writing and citing sources that will be useful. Here are some websites that might help as well

Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
    From the University of Albany, this site provides definitions, an explanation of why academic honesty is so important, and strategies to make it easier to avoid plagiarism.

Plagiarism: What it is and how to avoid it
     Explains how to paraphrase properly. Nice little pamphlets you can print off and call your own.

Plagiarism: The myths and the reality (or: what your friends don't know can really hurt you)
Based on a program begun at Coastal Carolina University, a list of common misconceptions about plagiarism

As in most class related endeavors, your first resource is the professor.  If  you do not know what citation style you need to use for the class, ASK!  If you do not understand what is meant by plagiarism, citation or other details of the process, ASK!  Your next line of defense is the librarian.  Librarians do not know everything, but they know where to look it up!

edited March 21, 2006