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Plagiarism in Academic Writing Gwen
Plagiarism in Academic Writing Gwen
Gwen Hansen
IST 524
Dr. Tourtellotte
November 6, 2018
PLAGIARISM 2
Psychological Association (APA) style standards and to avoid plagiarism in academic writing.
This paper will reflect on my personal knowledge gained by resources provided in the writing
workshop course taken through the Instructional Science and Technology (MIST) program.
The Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary definition of plagiarism is: to copy and pass off
(the expression of ideas or words of another) as one's own: use (another's work) without
crediting the source: to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product
behavior and is protected by copyright law. Additionally, professionals are expected to abide by
a code of ethics. We often see plagiarism occur among students. To address this issue,
universities have policies in place regarding academic integrity. Students are responsible to
adhere to honesty in regard to their intellectual work and to acknowledge the work of others in
their writings. A study by Cornell University found that over a three-year period, 60% of all
reported cases were a violation of plagiarism, (as cited in Cornell Code of Academic Integrity,
p.1).
Using APA to document sources used for assignments is the best way to avoid
plagiarism. According to the APA Citation Basics tutorial, the number one reason for plagiarism
is the “failure to cite as you write”, (Scott, 2016). The tutorial goes on to suggest listing your
references first, prior to beginning your work, so that you can locate your sources easily and not
The proper use of APA is equally important. Summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting
sources need to be cited correctly. This includes documentation to acknowledge both primary
and secondary sources. Academic writing must also include a reference page to properly
document bibliographic information of sources used in the work. Additionally, there are many
Realizing that citing adds validity to our papers as well as integrity to our work, makes
embracing APA desirable. The purpose of citation, as stated in Why We Cite (n.d.), provides
evidence to our arguments built on the ideas of others, gives credit and respect to those whose
ideas we borrowed, and allows readers to follow our reasoning and verify sources (University
Libraries, n.d.).
prevent plagiarism. Citing and referencing properly provides solid evidence to our work and
using available APA resources will help us improve as we practice our writing. Acknowledging
the ideas and works of others gives them due respect and avoids academic dishonesty. In return,
documenting those sources help builds evidence to our own writing and provides credibility to
our work.
PLAGIARISM 4
References
Cornell University. (2005). Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://plagiarism.arts.cornell.edu/tutorial/index.cfm
Scott, M. (2016, March 18). APA In-text Citations (6th Edition). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=uVlsbN99LIQ
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries. (n.d.). Why We Cite. Retrieved from
https://guides.lib.unc.edu/citing-information/why-we-cite