Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a form of stealing someone else’s words or ideas. It can also be lying about one’s sources. These words or ideas may be a phrase, a paragraph, or several pages, but the rules are the same:

  • Acknowledge and cite all sources properly.

  • Use quotation marks around words that are not your own.

  • Properly introduce and indent longer quotations that are not your own.

  • Use footnotes or endnotes to acknowledge another’s words or ideas.

  • Do not paraphrase too closely.

The Rhodes College Honor Council Constitution defines plagiarism as follows:

"Cheating includes plagiarism; specifically, it is the act of using another person’s words or ideas and representing them as one′s original work. This includes, without limitation, using information from any source without proper reference, getting ideas or words from a classmate’s paper, failure to properly punctuate direct quotes, and obtaining a paper from someone else. Ignorance is not an excuse for these violations. It is the student’s responsibility to consult the professor, an Honor Council member, or writing handbooks for procedure for properly acknowledging sources."

Please ask your professor if you have any doubt whatsoever whether even a small portion of any document you have produced could possibly be plagiarized. Rhodes professors are generally very easy to approach with questions of this nature. You may also ask at the Writing Center on the main floor of the Barret Library.