Prevention Tips

The key way to avoid plagiarism is to cite the sources used. When in doubt, cite! For more specific tips mostly from Turnitin's Research Resources, see the following lists:

For Students:
1. Ask the professor follow up questionas about assignment's expecations, group work procedures, take-home tests, WebCT quizzes, etc.
2. Plan your paper; it is never too early to start especially if you will need to inter-library loan sources
3. Print out or photocopy sources as you find them so you have all the information you need for the bibliography
4. Take effective and complete notes from your sources so you can properly cite them
5. When in doubt, always cite the source - even if you got the idea from somewhere else
6. Make it clear who said what when writing your paper
7. Know how to paraphrase or summarize
8. Evaluate your sources - especially web sites for credibility, objectivity and accuracy
9. Write your paper and then don't look at it for at least a day - when you come back to it, any words, phrases, sentences, or ideas that don't seem your own have been borrowed and need to be cited.