plagiarism  n  1: a piece of writing [or other intellectual or creative work] that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work   2: the act of plagiarizing; taking someone’s words or ideas as if they were your own (Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University)

According to research results reported by The Center for Academic Integrity, the occurrence of student plagiarism has increased drastically over recent decades. With the advent of the World Wide Web, it is now easier than ever for students to plagiarize, intentionally or not. It is our responsibility to educate our students on this topic so that they have the necessary understanding to avoid unintentional plagiarism; we also owe it to our students to hold them to a high standard of academic integrity and ensure that there are consequences to plagiarism.

The following resources on plagiarism have been compiled for your convenience. If you know of additional resources that would be useful to your fellow faculty members, please email Susan Hay, campus instructional designer. Thanks!

Plagiarism Overview

Preventing Plagiarism

Tools to Help Educate Your Students about Plagiarism

Penn State Policies on Plagiarism