According to the Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA), "plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else's language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source" (WPA, "Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism"). The best way to avoid inadvertently plagiarizing other authors' works is to learn about the various guises of plagiarism and appropriate citation and documentation methods.

The following links provide guidelines for recognizing, avoiding, and responding to plagiarism and academic dishonesty.

• Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices
• UW Definition of Academic Dishonesty

Last update November 15, 2006