Plagiarism

The Student Handbook defines plagiarism as "taking or imitating the ideas, thoughts or language of another to represent them as one's original work. If the ideas, thoughts or language from another source must be used, it is the student's responsibility to footnote or annotate the information appropriately."

Basically, plagiarism is copying sentences or paragraphs from any source: books, magazines, websites, or even copying the work of another student. When you do research, you need to complete a Works Cited page, which tells what sources you used to find information about your topic.

When taking notes from a source, you should put information into your own words. If the source provides great wording, you can quote the source. Quotations allow you to copy an exact sentence, as long as you use quotation marks and cite the source.

Remember, a research paper is made up of information put into your own words. Don't use too many quotations!

When you find a good source, the fist thing to do is created a bib card. On this card, you will need to write specific information from the source for your Works Cited page. Most of this information can be found on the title pages of books.

Citing sources can be complicated because there are so many different kinds of sources. The lists below will tell you which pieces of information you might need to cite the source. Click on the type of source to find out what the entry should look like (format) as well as an example entry.

Books

Here is a list of information that you might need to cite a book:

1. Author's Name (Last Name, First Name)
2. Title of Book
3. Name of Editor(s)
4. Edition
5. Number of Volumes
6. Name of Series
7. Place of Publication
8. Name of Publisher
9. Year of Publication

Format and Examples:

Book by a Single Author	Book by 2 Authors
Book by 3 Authors	Book by 4 or more Authors
Book with NO Author	Book by a Corporation
Book with 1 Editor	Book with Editors
Book in a Series
Encyclopedia with Author	Encyclopedia with NO Author

Magazines

Here is a list of information that you might need to cite a Magazine:

Monthly Magazine

Bimonthly Magazine

Weekly Magazine

Electronic Resources

Here is a list of information that you might need to cite an electronic source:

1. Author's Name (Last Name, First Name)
2. Title of the Website
3. Date of Publication
4. URL
5. Date of Access

Format and Examples:

If you have questions about MLA citation,
ask your librarian or your Language Arts teacher!