Kinds of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is taking another person’s intellectual property and presenting it as your own. This includes taking credit for the words, writing, ideas, pictures, etc. of someone else. It is the most common, and one of the most severe, forms of academic dishonesty. Sometimes plagiarism is blatant and intentional, but it can also be done unintentionally. Like many things, there is some gray area when it comes to plagiarism. At this level in your career and education, however, it is expected that you will know what constitutes plagiarism and what doesn’t.

The following is a set of examples of the different forms that plagiarism can take. It will serve as a reference for you when you aren’t sure whether you’ve wandered into a “gray area.”