Question

I am currently in highschool and am searching the Internet, trying to get a good grasp on certain concepts, words, etc. I really really do NOT want to be accused of plagiarism. Plagiarism in NOT my intention. I am simply reading information and facts from different sources, trying to improve my understanding. So, my question is, if I find a good paragraph on monarchy for example, and I copy it word for word onto paper for my own personal notes, is that considered plagiarism eventhough I am not saying it is my own? And if it is plagiarism, is there any way to legally cite it or give credit to t

Answer 1

What you are doing would be considered as plagiarism if you do not properly cite the source. You must provide credit to the source. Typically, the copied text is placed within quotes and is followed by (*citation*)

Answer 2

Thank you for your answer. I am still confused on how to properly cite the pararaph. And what about if I copy defintions from online dictionaries? How would I cite that? Can you please give me examples, because I am not educated on how to properly cite.

Answer 3

For English essays, the citation is traditionally as follows:

In her novel, Becky stated "there exists no one like him" (456). The number represents the line number; sometimes teachers like the page,line

For the paragraph, you could either have a bibliography at the end (if you have multiple sources) and place superscripted numbers corresponding to each source for each location of copied text, or you could have parentheses:

"...Paragraph..." ^1

(then bibliography has 1: National Geographic; episode 3)

or

"...Paragraph..." (National Geographic, episode 3)

Answer 4

Thank You. So if I google "citation" will it give me examples on how to precisely cite pararaphs, definitions, etc.?

Answer 5

I use bibme.org

This website is AMAZING :)

It automatically makes citations for you :)

Answer 6

But it also depends on what KIND of citation you want: APA, MLA, Turabian, Chicago etc.

Answer 7

You are so very gracious. Lol. Thank you! I have a long ways to go. I have no idea what the difference between APA, MLA, Turabian etc citations are. I'll get there though! I am going to check out that website. Thanks again! : )

Answer 8

Its amazing! Its completely free and saves the bibliographies you make so you can access them anywhere :)

I'm so very glad to help! You are one of the kindest people on this site so far :)

And the differences in citation all have to do with the order of the information. So some might put name of article THEN author while others put author THEN name of article :)

Answer 9

Ok! That helps! I am extremely new to this site. Infact, I just became a member. I am really trying to get a good education and properly prepare for college. And I surely didn't want to be accused of plagiarism. No way! So I am going to head on over and learn some citation information. You're a lifesaver!

Answer 10

Haha anytime :) I am pretty new here too :D

Shoot me a message if you have any questions :)

Answer 11

Just to clarify... you are not using this paragraph for an assignment, correct? You just want to write it down, so you have this little bit of knowledge close at hand, correct? If it is for your own notes, you don't need to cite it. However, if you want to use it, later, if would be nice to know where it came from.

Answer 12

How'd the site work for you? :)

Answer 13

Peeps: Correct. I am only writing it down for my own personal knowledge, just to be better acquainted with general knowledge. I am not writing a report or essay. Thank you for your response.
Wombat: It's a great site! Much thanks for your suggesting it.

Answer 14

Oh if you are writing for personal notes and knowledge, you do not need citations. If you are publishing / submitting it, you need citations. Great! Glad it works :)