Get Ready to Cite Your Sources
You can save yourself a lot of time and trouble if you get ready to cite your sources as you do your research. That means noting the citation information for sources as you select them.
Some students have a mistaken belief that they are not supposed to use other people's words and ideas in their research papers. But research is, by its very nature, a response to the thought (and published words) of other writers.
As you write your research paper, you will necessarily respond to the ideas of other writers. You will need to summarize, paraphrase, and quote what others have written. You are expected to use other writers' words and ideas in your papers.
However, using others' words and ideas without giving them credit is a serious violation of academic decorum and college rules. This kind of rule violation is called plagiarism.
What is plagiarism?
"'Plagiarism' means the appropriation of another's work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one's own written work offered for credit." (HCCS Student Handbook)
HCCS has established policies prohibiting and providing disciplinary remedies against students guilty of forms of academic dishonesty such as plagiarism.
How can I use others' work and still avoid plagiarism?
There is a simple answer: adopt a bibliographic style and use it to give credit whenever you use someone else's words or ideas in your writing. The three most common bibliographic styles used at HCCS for documenting sources of information are:
The HCCS librarians will help you learn more about these bibliographic styles.
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