Plagiarism

Plagiarism, to me, is claiming an idea that belongs to someone else and claiming it as your own. It may not be just the idea of someone else, it could be a strange fact that wouldn't be considered common information. Like the average United States Citizen life span is

male: 76.05 years

female: 81.05 years

That would have to be cited (cia.gov).

Things you can do to prevent plagiarism is

A) Understand that the sources used are not intended to be used as direct quotes that stand on their own. A quote needs to support your argument, not make it for you.

B) Do not look at your sources when writing your paper. If you aren't looking, there is a very small chance you'll phrase it the same way but STILL give credit in the end.

What surprised me:

In elementary school, middle school and even high school I did a lot of word switching and even copying and pasting. As a kid though, I think my teachers knew I was not intending on stealing from the authors. I did credit them as a source at the very end in my Works Cited page but not in the text like I should have. Other Plagiarisms almost seem picky picky picky. Metaphor plagiarism? That sounds, to me, like something that could be done accidentally depending on how you learn the material.


Good night all,
Kayla Ciliberto


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