Avoiding Plagiarism

Citing the materials you used to write your paper tells your readers where you found the information and who authored the materials you used to support your topic.

Avoiding Plagiarism - Getting Started

As college students, you likely hear a lot about plagiarism being bad, but sometimes it’s hard to know what exactly constitutes plagiarism, and exactly how to avoid it. This USF Libraries guide is here to help you figure out what plagiarism is, why avoiding plagiarism is so important and how to avoid plagiarism in your own work.

Citing the materials you used to write your paper tells your readers where you found the information and who created, or authored, the materials used to support your topic.

The videos below will provide some basics on:

Identifying basic rules about when to cite your sources.
Identifying examples of "common knowledge".
Recognizing the difference between paraphrasing, summarizing, and direct quotations when citing sources.

Check out the videos & for more in-depth information, check out the rest of the guide!

Avoiding Plagiarism: What Do I Need to Cite?
Most students understand they need to cite materials they used if it is a direct quote, but the ideas of others need to be cited, too.
Plagiarism: You Can't Just Change a Few Words
A lot of students do not think examples like these count as plagiarism, but they do.
When Should I Cite a Source?
This video identifies the conditions under which you need to cite a source when writing an essay or paper.

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