JSCC Writing Center

For a generation raised on the ideology of “open source” and the ability to quickly cut and paste, the concept of plagiarism may seem foreign or passé. And that, of course, can lead to trouble. This video examines the behaviors that constitute plagiarism, their consequences, and the best ways to avoid them. Showing how accidental copying as well as willful plagiarism can occur, the program lays out the dangers of cheating, then illustrates the pitfalls of nonattribution and patch writing while showing how to properly attribute and paraphrase a lengthy quotation. Copyright, trademark, and intellectual property concepts are clearly discussed, in addition to potential sources of noncopyrighted material. Common citation formats (APA, MLA, Bluebook, etc.) are listed along with the suggestion that the student confer with his or her instructor about them.