Plagiarism is a serious offense at East Carolina University. The ECU Student Handbook defines plagiarism as "Copying the language, structure, ideas, and/or thoughts of another and adopting same as one's own original work." For more information see the Code of Conduct.
Tips for avoiding plagiarism
The First Year Writing Studio at ECU offers the following suggestions for avoiding plagiarism:
- Place quotation marks around direct quotes.
- Paraphrase your source information. This means more than rearranging the structure of a sentence or changing a few words. A good way to do this is to figure out what the source means to you and then writing this down without looking at the source.
- Use parenthetical documentation for all quotes and paraphrased information, and provide a Works Cited page at the end of your paper.
Hand write your notes. The objective is to record quotes, paraphrases, and summaries in an orderly manner so that the page number, source, author/editor, and publication information are carefully noted. This may seem time consuming, but you will be less likely to commit the "P" word!
Links for more information
