What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's words, data or ideas without proper attribution to the source. Words, data, and ideas are the intellectual property of the content creator. When you use someone else's intellectual property you need to properly attribute the work. Failure to do so is academic or intellectual property theft.
You can avoid plagiarism by:
- supporting your opinions with evidence
- keeping track of ideas and where you found them
- citing your sources correctly
- Academic Integrity for StudentsMohawk College Library Student Academic Integrity guide.
- A Student's Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism and Understanding Citations
This video from Alexander Street will help viewers understand what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, and the proper way to cite sources.
Student Success Guides
- APA Guide
-
Writing Skills
by Christine Chiasson Last Updated May 8, 2025 886 views this year
-
Information Literacy
by Christine Chiasson Last Updated May 8, 2025 582 views this year
-
Skills for Academic Success
by Christine Chiasson Last Updated May 16, 2025 215 views this year
Resources
- The Learning Portal - Why Cite?Learn what it means to cite your sources and why it's important. You will also find tips for how to cite your sources effectively and efficiently.
- What is Citation?The 'What', 'Why' and 'When' of citation from plagiarism.org.
- APA GuideThe Library's APA Guide is designed to help you form citations for the most commonly used items such as books and articles. This is a good place to start and also provides Quick Links to more resources.
APA 7th Manual Made Easy: Full Concise Guide Simplified for Students by Call Number: Fennell, IAHS, Stoney Creek STACKS BF76.7 .A63 2021Publication Date: 2021This student guide reflects the newest version of APA and addresses the vast majority of questions about using APA 7th edition correctly with 80+ examples of references.
The Concise APA Handbook by Publication Date: 2020Student writers often struggle with understanding the concept of plagiarism, as well as how to find sources, evaluate the appropriateness of sources, and use sources in effective ways; this book provides this information in a concise and easy to understand format
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by Call Number: Fennell, IAHS, Stoney Creek STACKS BF76.7 .P83 2020Publication Date: 2019Guides users through the scholarly writing process--from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication.
- The Learning Portal - Writing & Communication HubThis hub from The Learning Portal will help you develop effective planning, writing and revising skills that will help you complete your written assignments.
- Beginning ProofreadingInformation on how to begin proofreading your papers.
- Quoting, Paraphrasing, and SummarizingOWL Purdue's guide to including information from other sources via quotation, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
- The Learning Portal - Quoting, Summarizing & Paraphrasing SourcesTips from The Learning Portal on how to paraphrase when incorporating information from other sources.
The Quick Fix Guide to Academic Writing by Publication Date: 2018The Student Success series are essential guides for students of all levels. From how to think critically and write great essays to planning your dream career, the Student Success series helps you study smarter and get the best from your time at university or college.
- GrammarlyGrammarly’s plagiarism checker detects plagiarism in your text and checks for other writing issues.
- Plagiarism BlogPlagiarism.org is a blog dedicated to instruction and current issues with a focus on all things plagiarism. Find detailed content on every aspect of plagiarism and how to avoid it.
- QuetextQuetext lets you not only review content for plagiarism risks but also helps you with producing citations.