When you plagiarize, you lose the opportunity to learn and practice skills you'll need in your profession, and you also lose the opportunity to receive honest feedback from your professors.
In addition, plagiarism is a serious academic offense. Oklahoma State University regards plagiarism as a violation of academic integrity and consequences include:
Read OSU-OKC's Academic Regulations.
"Violation of Academic Integrity" can be found on page 37.
Turnitin is a plagiarism detection service used by colleges and universities. It uses specialized technology to compare student papers with information found on the Internet as well as its own database of previously submitted papers.
Your professor may ask you to submit your papers electronically through Turnitin.com. Turnitin.com will create an "originality report" that shows how much of your paper is original and how much, if any, is plagiarized.
Graphic created by Andrea Lam
Give credit where credit is due.
Don't use words, ideas, or anything else in your paper that was created by someone else without giving them credit.
Know your citation style guide.
Whether it's MLA, APA, or any other citation method, learn how to use it well.
graphic from http://clipartcotttage.deviantart.com/art/Elephant-5-PNG-439338415
In addition to citing information correctly, there are two other habits that will help you avoid plagiarizing:
• Take good notes. Write down all of the details about where you found the information you're using.
• Don't procrastinate. If you're in a hurry, it's easier to make mistakes.