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Plagiarism: Avoiding Plagiarism - Tips and Citing Sources

This guide will help you understand what plagiarism is and provide you with tips for avoiding plagiarism.

Tips and Citing

Here are some tips for avoiding plagiarism:

  • Start your research early so that you can read and cite your sources!
  • Learn about paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting!
  • Talk to your professor, a librarian, or a writing specialist to make sure that you have not plagiarized.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

You can avoid plagiarism by citing your sources correctly if you use someone else's ideas or words.

You should cite your sources when: 

  • Referring to a source or using someone else’s opinions, thoughts, and ideas.
  • Using and image/media that you did not create.

Citing your sources:

  • Gives credit to the authors.
  • Creates access to the materials for other users.
  • Provides evidence of your research process.
  • Is the ethical and standard practice for writers.

No citations are needed when:

  • Stating your own thoughts and interpretations.
  • Using common knowledge information.
  • Personal observations and experiences.

To learn more about how to cite sources, use these citation style guides: