Plagiarism is stealing other people’s wordwords and ideaideas and passing it off as your own. Plagiarism is a serious offense.
At theAt university level, it will usually get you an F on your assignment. If you plagiarize repeatedrepeatedly, you may even get
kicked out of the institution. Outside the academy, the penalties variesvary. Being caught plagiarizing certainly hurts your
reputation and you might to lose your job. But you shouldn’t obey the law just to avoid getting caught. If you value
original thought, personal integrity, and scholarly research, then you will naturally want to avoid plagiarism. That’s

why it’s important to cite your sources and know how to integrate quotations properly. You Mightmight think that you

would never plagiarize. Many plagiarism cases are the result of negligence, ignorance, or a lack of self-

confidentself-confidence. Yet even when plagiarism is inadvertent and unintended, ignorance is no excuse. You need to cite your sources and present your own argument.