Citation & Plagiarism

Citation & Plagiarism Definitions

CITATION

  • Citation means crediting information and ideas that you used in your research and writing.

  • Citations tell your readers about the source of your information - where you found it and who originally said or wrote it.

  • In addition to giving credit to the source, your citation allows your readers to find and investigate your sources.


PLAGIARISM

  • Plagiarism is defined as using, closely imitating, or passing off the ideas and words of others as your own.

  • Even if your plagiarism of another’s work is unintentional, it still is considered theft and a breach of academic integrity.

  • Most plagiarism can be avoided by citing your sources and using your own words.


AVOIDING PLAGIARISM in 2 steps (you must do BOTH):

  • Rewrite (paraphrase) ideas from the source by changing words AND sentence structure, or providing a direct quotation.

  • Give credit to the author/source (you must do this even if you paraphrase or summarize).

Citation Generators

MyBib (many citation styles, including MLA, APA, and Chicago styles)

NoodleTools (MLA, APA, and Chicago styles)

Notetaking & Avoiding Plagiarism (slides & handouts)

MLA Citation Help / Examples

APA & Chicago Style Citation Help