Plagiarism: The cardinal sin of writing and how to avoid it: Home

Plagiarism is defined by dictionary.com as

"an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author."

• Claiming someone else's work as your own.
• Paraphrasing a sentence or passage from someone else's work or source (print or digital media, etc.) without proper citation.
• Copying a phrase, sentence, or passage word for word without using quotation marks and proper citation. 
• Using incorrect or incomplete citation information.
• Using so much of someone else's work, whether cited or not, that it constitutes the vast majority of your work.
• Purchasing or getting someone else to write a term paper for you and then turning it in as your own. 

The ramifications for committing plagiarism would include a zero for the work and possibly an F for the course. In the Student Handbook, it falls under the category of "Academic Dishonesty" and can result in probation and even more serious consequences for repeat offenders.