"Plagiarism is intellectual theft. At Merrimack, the failure to acknowledge the intellectual contributions of others is considered plagiarism. It is important to avoid even unintentional plagiarism by being familiar with accepted ways to acknowledge sources and by developing good note-taking and research habits."
Turnitin.com's The Plagiarism Spectrum explains common forms of plagiarism in easy-to-remember terms and definitions:
YOU SHOULD CITE WHEN:
WHEN REFERRING TO A SOURCE, YOU HAVE THREE OPTIONS FOR USING IT:
"Which option you should choose depends on how much of a source you are using, how you are using it, and what kind of paper you are writing, since different fields use sources in different ways." Grounds for Argument. When to Quote, Paraphrase, or Summarize a Source. Used under CC BY NC SA
Image: Random quote by Gabriel Jones. Used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
YOU DO NOT NEED TO CITE:
WHAT IS A DIRECT QUOTATION:
"Must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author." Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (2012). Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
USE IT:
BE ADVISED:
Most of the time when you cite a source, you want to summarize or paraphrase. Direct quotations should be used sparingly when the situation meets the criteria above. When you do use direct quotations:
HOW TO CITE A DIRECT QUOTATION:
WHAT IS A SUMMARY:
"Involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s).... Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material." Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (2012). Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
"Similar to paraphrasing, summarizing involves using your own words and writing style to express another author's ideas. Unlike the paraphrase, which presents important details, the summary presents only the most important ideas of the passage." University of Houston-Victoria Student Success Center (n.d.). Decide when to Quote, Paraphrase & Summarize.
USE IT:
HOW TO CITE A SUMMARY:
WHAT IS A PARAPHRASE:
"A paraphrase is a detailed restatement in your own words of a written or sometimes spoken source material. Apart from the changes in organization, wording, and sentence structure, the paraphrase should be nearly identical in meaning to the original passage. It should also be near the same length as the original passage and present the details of the original." University of Houston-Victoria Student Success Center (n.d.). Decide when to Quote, Paraphrase & Summarize.
Paraphrasing is "your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form." Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (2012). Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
USE IT:
HOW TO CITE A PARAPHRASE:
Includes 6 steps to effective paraphrasing and examples.
From the Harvard Guide to Using Sources
It doesn't necessarily mean that most people would know it offhand. And sometimes it's a judgment call because what seems like common knowledge to one person isn't to another. Here are good guidelines:
CAUTION: Opinions and unique terminology/phrasing do not qualify as common knowledge.