Many instances of plagiarism are unintentional or done by mistake. To learn more about unintentional plagiarism, review our Understanding Plagiarism Guide. Common examples of plagiarism are:
- turning in someone else’s work as your own, whether it’s purchased from the Internet, written by a friend, or obtained elsewhere
- copying words, images, or ideas from someone else without giving credit
- failing to put quoted passages in quotation marks
- giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
- changing words but copying the ideas of a source without giving credit
The Community College of Vermont’s Academic Integrity Policy (PDF) defines plagiarism as “the presentation of the language, ideas, or thought of another person as one’s own work in the preparation of a paper, laboratory report, oral presentation, or any other presentation.”
Vermont Tech’s Policy on Cheating and Plagiarism (PDF) states that
“Plagiarism consists of offering as one’s own work the words, ideas, or arguments of
another person, without appropriate attribution.”
