What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own, and without giving proper credit to the sources you have used.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines plagiarism as 'writing borrowed thoughts as original'. Plagiarism is distinguished from the proper use of sources by its failure to discuss, analyse and acknowledge the influence of another's work. As a student you will, of course, use other people's work and ideas, but there is a difference between this and relying totally on other peoples' efforts.
Plagiarism is Unfair Practice. There are strict University regulations regarding Unfair Practice Procedure and Plagiarism. These are in your Student Handbook and you are advised to read these carefully. At University it is imperative that you give full and correct acknowledgement of any materials you use in your academic work which are not your own.
This tutorial explains a little more about what plagiarism is and why you need to be aware of it.
