What is plagiarism?
In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else's language, ideas,
or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source. (Council of Writing
Program Administrators 2003). Plagiarism is one of the forms of cheating found on college and university
campuses. It can happen deliberately, or (as in Zach's case, above), accidentally. Other creations, such as
artwork, photography, and movies can also be plagiarized. A major cause of plagiarism is the failure to
correctly document (or cite) what resources are used in writing a paper, or to copy from them too heavily.