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NURS 143 - Informatics in Nursing Practice - Tressler

Types of Plagiarism

Direct

A word-for-word copy of someone else's work, without attribution and quotation marks, is deliberate plagiarism. 

Self-Plagiarism

If you have already submitted something you've written for an assignment for any other class, using that same text without instructor permission and proper citations is plagiarism.

Patchwork

Taking bits and pieces from a variety of sources, putting them together, and presenting them as your original work is plagiarism. You need to cite your sources.

Accidental

Sometimes you forget. Sometimes you don't realize you paraphrased. Accidents happen, but it's still plagiarism. Keep careful track of your sources!

How Plagiarism Happens, and How to Avoid It

Deliberate

When you attempt to pass off the work of someone else as something you wrote or created, you are plagiarizing. Some examples of deliberate plagiarism are:

  • intentionally copy word-for-word from books, articles, or online sources without citing your source
  • buying, downloading, borrowing, or copying another person's paper
  • not providing attribution to images or charts that are not designated as free to use without attribution

Accidental

Sometimes students make a mistake when including sources in their papers. Here are some examples of things that can lead to accidental plagiarism:

  • Using too much of the original wording when paraphrasing
  • Building on an idea without crediting the original idea
  • Another person edits your work and unknowingly makes changes that are too close to the source
  • Improperly citing the source, or citing the wrong source

Solutions

Some strategies you can use to avoid plagiarism include:

  • create a list of full citations as you use the source, rather than waiting until the end to create the citation
  • start your assignment early, so that you do not make mistakes when you are pressed for time
  • run your paper through a plagiarism checker
  • take your sources with you to the writing tutors

Avoiding Plagiarism Video and Activity

APA Resources