Understand And Avoid Plagiarism

Become a Better Writer: Understand and Avoid Plagiarism
Gretchen F. Thomas
Liberty University

Abstract
This text explores plagiarism in a form that provides the reader a better understanding of the term. Although many have learned of plagiarism, many have not fully grasped in detail what the term means. Avoiding plagiarism is possible. After reading this text the reader will understand intentional and unintentional plagiarism, the importance of proper citations within the document body as well as the reference page, direct quoting, paraphrasing and expressing anothers ideas. Common knowledge and whether to over-cite or under-site also is discussed. Key words: plagiarism, paraphrasing

Become a Better Writer: Understand and Avoid
The general knowledge of cow lactation would be common knowledge. However, how the cow eats green grass and produces white milk is not obvious and would be known by a farmer or someone with an expertise in farm animals and their diets. The farmer would have more knowledge about the cow’s diet because of experience, therefore this topic outside of “cows produce milk”, would not be deemed as “common knowledge”. The Perdue Online Writing Lab (Deciding if Something is “Common Knowledge”, 2012, para. 1) defines common knowledge by stating;
…if you find the same information undocumented in at least five credible sources. Additionally, it might be common knowledge if you think the information you 're presenting is something your readers will already know, or something that a person could easily find in general reference sources. But when in doubt, cite;
To know that plagiarism is not just the act of cheating or using someone elses work as original information, but that any information presented as original, without citation, improper citation, improper paraphrasing, lack of quotations when quoting, under citing, or failure to properly express and incorporate someone elses idea; are all forms of plagiarism (Plagiarism Prevention for Students, 2008). To evade plagiarism, it is important to plan the paper, take effective notes (Preventing Plagiarism When Writing, 2012, para. 3), use “author-date” format when using APA in text citing (OWL, 2012) and proof read a final draft, to circumvent careless errors. Follow these guidelines and those outlined within this text to encourage better writing skills, which in time births better