Resources on Avoiding Plagiarism
Department of Political Science
Concordia University

III. How Not to Plagiarize
C. Techniques for Avoiding Plagiarism

 Plagiarism is a serious issue. It is unethical, unfair, and undermines your education. How can you avoid it? These tips can help:

1. Don’t procrastinate. Students who leave assignments to the last minute are more likely to plagiarize in desperation in order to meet a deadline.

2. Take careful notes. When taking notes, be careful to indicate whether they are direct quotes or your own summary of the source. Students sometimes plagiarize inadvertently by inserting material from their notes in a paper, forgetting that the notes were copied word-for-word from a source.

3. Don’t work directly from sources. Students often write papers with books and other sources right in front of them. That increases the danger of inadvertently taking material directly from the source without proper acknowledgement.

4. Consult guides to writing with sources. It is a good idea to own a copy of The MLA Handbook 7th edition; A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, by Kate L. Turabian (University of Chicago Press); or a writer’s handbook. Another excellent resource is Charles Lipson, Doing Honest Work in College: How to Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism, and Achieve Real Academic Success 2nd ed. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2008.) (Charles Lipson is not related to the author of this site.)

Or consult:

Concordia University Library, Citation Style Guides.

5. Talk to a Writing Assistant. You can make appointments for writing assistance at Student Learning Services. You can make appointments through the portal. (See instructions here.)

6. Ask your professor or TA.

7. If you aren’t sure, cite it.


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