Spring 2005
Milne Library, SUNY Geneseo
Plagiarism Workshop

Frequently Asked Questions about Plagiarism

 

I know that "common knowledge" does not have to be cited, but what is "common knowledge?"

Won't the professor give me a bad grade if every sentence in my paper has quotes and/or citations?

What if I honestly don't have anything to say about this topic?

What if I can't think of a better way to explain something than the author I'm paraphrasing from?

So how do I make "smooth transitions" between my ideas and the quotes/paraphrases?
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Think about it some more.

Material for this page was borrowed from :

Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference, 5th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2003.

Liles, J. (2002) Plagiarism: Information and Resources for Faculty. Retrieved September 21, 2002, from the web site of J. Liles.
....who sites the following web page as his source......
Barnbaum, C. (2002). Plagiarism: A Student's Guide to Recognizing It and Avoiding It. Retrieved May 16, 2002, from the Web site of C. Barnbaum.