1. Do not
intentionally use other people’s work without giving credit, and do not
purchase papers.
2. Be aware of
the potential for plagiarism at all stages of the process: reading,
note-taking, drafting, revising, etc. If you have a photographic memory,
memorize where you got the information so you can check for plagiarism
later. Avoid the temptation to download
web files to a disk and copy and pasted them into your own paper. Forcing yourself to type any quotations into
your paper will help you be selective and keep you aware of which sentences are
yours and which ones are from a source.
1. Do not write while
looking at sources unless you are trying to quote. Summarize with sources closed or take special
care to use quotation marks.
2. Be careful
when taking notes. Use quotation marks
and citations in your notes if you are copying from a source into your
notebook or into a document. Cite page
or paragraph number and author/title, etc. in your notes.
3. Remember where
you got all of your information—even if you are merely summarizing or
paraphrasing a small part of it. That
too will require a citation.
4. Understand and
meticulously apply the MLA guidelines for citing sources: signal phrases and
quotation marks, parenthetical/in-text citations, and works cited entries.
5. Double-check
all of your work for accidental plagiarism.
6. Ask for help
and reassurance if you think there is a remote chance you may be plagiarizing.