Hege Library & Learning Technologies

PPS 210: PPS Scholars, Practices and Narratives

Avoiding Plagiarism

Guilford defines plagiarism broadly as presenting the interpretations, wording, images or original conceptions of others as one’s own without appropriate acknowledgment. Individual faculty members determine what constitutes “appropriate acknowledgment” within the context of their courses, either by specifically stating requirements or by acknowledging the standard practice within a given discipline. The charge of plagiarism applies to any and all academic work whether done inside or outside of the classroom and whether submitted as a rough draft or a final product (Guilford College Academic Honor Code, Office of the Academic Dean).

The resources below instruct your use of others' work and ideas:

When Should I Cite?

You should include a citation if you:

     1. Use a direct quote

     2. Summarize an outside source

     3. Paraphrase an idea, quote, or passage from someone else

If you are unsure about whether you need to cite, go ahead and do it.  Better safe than sorry when it comes to avoiding plagiarism.

APA Citation

Citing Images - Basics

According to Purdue Owl (Links to an external site.), a web-based citation source used by students and researchers across the globe, you need to cite things that fit any of the following descriptions:

  • Words or ideas presented in a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium
  • Information you gain through interviewing or conversing with another person, face to face, over the phone, or in writing
  • When you copy the exact words or a unique phrase
  • When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, or other visual materials
  • When you reuse or repost any electronically-available media, including images, audio, video, or other media

Many people believe that they do not need to cite Creative Commons works, and this is false.  Any work that you use must be cited, and this includes media.

Specific rules about citing different types of media differ depending on the citation style that you are using.  MLA, APA, Chicago, CSE, and ASA all have different ideas about how media should be cited.  You can find copies of all of these style manuals at the research desk, located in Hege Library on the main level.

Web-based guides for citing media:

Creative Commons image citations can be challenging for many people, because it isn't always clear exactly who the image was produced by. Use this guide (Links to an external site.) to help you decide how best to cite these images.

If you have questions about citations, feel free to email sandersrc@guilford.edu for more information.