Defining the P word

Although we are deluged with a ton of information every day, it's important to remember all that data legally belongs to someone. As educators and authors, we may need to revisit the definition of plagiarism - the too liberal use of another's words. Understanding when to attribute and when to request permission for reuse will protect you and the University.

In the MU Extension English 1000, Exposition and Argumentation Study Guide, http://cdis.missouri.edu/exec/data/courses2/2112/2112-preview.pdf, Dr. Dana Kinnison says, "Plagiarism results whenever you include the words or ideas of others in your writing in a way that would lead readers to assume the words or ideas are your own. Plagiarism occurs when you: 1. Use another writer’s words without quotation marks and acknowledgement, 2. Losely paraphrase but don’t acknowledge someone else’s text and 3. Summarize another writer’s research or analysis without acknowledgement. Plagiarism can result from ignorance of the rules of documentation, from sloppiness or from an intent to deceive the reader."

Northern Illinois University offers an easy-to-read-and-understand definition of plagiarism at
http://www.engl.niu.edu/comskills/students/plagiarism/Plagiarism.html.

The Learning Center at http://www.plagiarism.org/ offers a "sense of what plagiarism means in the information age."