How Much Do You Know About Plagiarism?

It's fine to copy anything that is on the internet as long as it's open and freely available.

False Any time you use someone else's words and do not cite the source, it is considered plagiarism.

If I write a paper for one course, it's OK to submit the same paper for a different course as long as it's my own writing.

False Courses require original work for assignments. It is not OK to submit previously-submitted work for a course.

You can never cite a source if it appears on the World Wide Web. It's only OK to cite sources from printed books and journals.

False Information from the web should be cited just like information from books and journals.

It's OK to pay another student or company to write your paper as long as you pay a fair amount.

False It is never OK to have someone else write your papers. This is considered academic dishonesty.

You need a citation for this statement: After the death of President Kennedy, his widow, Jacqueline, married Aristotle Onassis.

False Many sources would offer this information, and it would be considered common knowledge.

You need a citation for this statement: World War II ended in 1945.

False Many sources would offer this information, and it would be considered common knowledge.

You need a citation for this statement: There are 50 states in the United States.

False This information is common knowledge and would NOT have to be cited.

You're allowed to copy anything that's in Wikipedia because it's an online encyclopedia.

False Wikipedia must be cited like any other source. However, you should probably avoid using Wikipedia in a college-level essay because of some credibility issues.

I'm an international student. The rules about plagiarism are different in my country, so I will NOT have to follow the rules for citing sources in the United States.

False Even though rules vary from country to country, students taking classes in the United States must follow the rules for the United States.

If you're sure that a fact is common knowledge, it's not necessary to cite it.

True Common knowledge does not have to be cited.

If you paraphrase the text from a source, you must cite the source in your paper.

True Even if you put information in your own words, you must cite it.

The act of plagiarism can include copying pictures as well as text.

True Pictures are protected by copyright laws.

You need a citation for this statement: Doris Kearns Goodwin has shown that Abraham Lincoln was skillful at managing politicians with opposing points of view.

True This information is specific and would not be common knowledge. Therefore, it should be cited.

You need a citation for this statement: The Spanish poet Antonio Machado was strongly influenced by the French Symbolist poets.

True This information is specific and would not be common knowledge. Therefore, it should be cited.

You need a citation for this statement: The Success automobile was built in Missouri in 1906.

True This information is specific and would not be common knowledge. Therefore, it should be cited.