Avoiding Plagiarism

Citing Sources

Researching on the Web

Using Online Writing Labs

As you can see from these recent cases of plagiarism reported in the Aggie, students have a responsibility to understand what plagiarism is and to avoid it. Students suspected of plagiarism, whether intentional or not, are referred to Student Judicial Affairs for a meeting with a SJA officer. The university response to students who plagiarize includes a disciplinary sanction such as disciplinary Probation, deferred suspension, or in serious or repeated cases, Suspension or even Dismissal from the university. Students are also often required to meet with a specialist from the Learning Skills Center for tutoring about how to avoid plagiarism, or are assigned community service, or other projects. In addition, the student generally receives a grade of "0" or "F" for the paper or project. (Thanks to Donald Dudley from Student Judicial Affairs)

The best brief explanation of avoiding plagiarism can be found at Indiana University. Read this page often before beginning any paper or report in which you present research and/or refer to sources.

More on avoiding plagiarism, this from Hamilton College

Our own Student Judicial Affairs’ Site on Mastering the Art of Scholarship.

Princeton University’s Writing Center explains here when to cite sources. Review this cite before revising your essay or report.

Duke University’s Guide to Library Research offers this helpful chart that compares commonly-cited sorts of sources using primary citing methods, such as MLA and APA style.

"Effective Searching with New and Specialized Search Engines" introduces the best search engines and searching methods.

"Ten Nifty Databases" connects you to public, academic, and U.C. Davis-based databases available to UCD students working on research projects.

Purdue’s Online Writing Lab is the most famous and one of the most complete of the OWLs.