Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What is Plagiarism and Why is it Important? In college courses, we are continually engaged with other people's ideas: we read them in texts, hear them in lecture, discuss them in class, and incorporate them into our own writing. As a result, it is very important that we give credit where it is due. Plagiarism is using others' ideas and words without clearly …showed first 75 words of 1047 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1047 total…style. The following example uses the Modern Language Association's style: Example: According to Peter S. Pritchard in USA Today, "Public schools need reform but they're irreplaceable in teaching all the nation's young" (14). Paraphrase: using someone's ideas, but putting them in your own words. This is probably the skill you will use most when incorporating sources into your writing. Although you use your own words to paraphrase, you must still acknowledge the source of the information.