pla⋅gia⋅rism
(plā'jə-rĭz'əm)
to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own: use (another's production) without crediting the source: to commit literary theft: prsent as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source. - from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, eleventh ed. 2003.
Intentional & Unintentional
Intentional:
deliberate copying or use of another's work without giving credit,
submitting a paper from the Internet, another student, or a previous
course as one’s own original work, or altering or falsifying citations
to hide sources
Unintentional: not properly citing sources, overall
sloppy research and note-taking, or cutting and pasting from electronic
resources without revision.
When in doubt:
- Introduce the source
- Cite the source
- List the source on a reference page
MLA Style is typically used in the Humanities. MLA generally recommends in-text citations that refer readers to a list of works cited.
MLA Handbook by