How to Avoid the Plagiarism Plague

Every college student has been at a plagiarism crossroad at one point or another in her life (yes, even you, Little Miss Perfection, who has never turned in an assignment a minute past the due date and who edits her research papers seven times before handing them in to the professor). In fact, we are constantly making the choice between correctly attributing a source and simply allowing it to slip by unnoticed.
 
Do I have to cite the source for a sentence that I completely rephrased into my own words? How will the professor know that this isn’t my original idea but that I read about it on a website a few weeks ago? Do I really need to quote something that everyone already knows is true? These are all questions that occasionally pop into our minds as we complete an assignment—not because we are dishonest or want to get by with the least amount of effort possible, but because the line between correct attribution and plagiarism is often quite blurry.
 
Here are a few guidelines to help steer you in the right direction the next time you find yourself a little bit, well, outsourced:
 
What Exactly is Plagiarism?
 
The Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University defines plagiarism as “using others’ ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information.” This includes copying others’ work without giving proper attribution, restating someone’s idea or words without providing the source, and collaborating with other students on an assignment without accrediting his or her contribution, among others.
 
The term’s definition sounds pretty clear-cut, yet why do so many students find themselves within the murky waters of the plagiarism plague? “The internet makes all too possible ‘borrowing’ and weaving in full text from unacknowledged sources; the net's emphasis on ‘collaborative’ work can lead to witting and unwitting plagiarism,” says Boston University Professor and Chair of English, William Carroll.
 
So is the internet to blame for our uncertainty regarding proper source attribution, or is there another factor at work in this cloud of academic ambiguity? “I'm afraid students coming out of high school these days are particularly unclear on unacknowledged appropriations,” says Professor Carroll. Thus, part of the problem is the vagueness that surrounds the proper acknowledgement of internet sources; but another—arguably more important—aspect is the ignorance about accurate source citation that abounds among college students and those entering college.